The Love Between a Father and Son is an ongoing series that revolves around the relationship between fathers and sons as it progresses through time. From infancy to late adulthood, the relationship between a parent and child goes through many transformations. As a child grows older, they become less reliant on their parental figures and more independent. The intimacy between a father and son develops from intimacy through reliance and touch into intimacy through shared time and intellectual understanding. While imagery of mother and child relationships abound in contemporary media, here the fatherly relationship with his child is celebrated. Each piece examines a snapshot of time in the lives of these figures and invites the viewer to examine these universal lived human experiences.
Encaustic, pastel, pen, and paper, 24” x 24”, SOLD
Midwest Sightseeing depicts a young boy with his young father. Older than a toddler but too young to pursue independence, the father holds the child close but not as intimately as Embrace. He appears to both be pulling the child toward him and pushing him away to reflect the beginning of the shift to independence. An idea of artificiality is detected in the pose between the two, as if posing for a sightseeing photograph. Family photographs are typically posed in this manner to showcase the most idealized version of a memory; however, the moment is disturbed by the appearance of decomposition. Impartial facial drawings and fluid color blocks reflect a deterioration that is reminiscent of rust or water damage. This deterioration may indicate a larger issue, perhaps decay of the photograph or the memory itself.
Encaustic, pastel, pen, and paper, 48” x 48”
Gone Fishin’ illustrates a shared activity between a father and young son as they are leaving to go fishing. This moment illustrates an age where a young boy is growing his understanding of the world through lessons from his parents and beginning down his path to independence. These childhood years are important for the development of family relationships as they mark the transition from the early years of intimacy through touch to intimacy through shared activities. The viewer is offered a more nostalgic approach to gazing at the retreating figures. The sunset-esque colors and broad, loose background become impressionistic and sentimental in appearance. The figures are turned in a non-confrontational moment leading the viewer to be excluded from their private lesson.
Detail
Encaustic, pastel, pen, and paper, 24” x 12”
This piece captures the moment when an adult son leaves his father’s side to develop new beginnings. The inner section shows a scene of the adult son and father walking side by side and enjoying each other's company. The outer parts show the son moving on away from his father as he has grown old enough to leave his father’s side and begin a new chapter in his life. Reading from left to right these images may also allude to the march of time and inevitability of death. The left image would then indicate a period where the father is alone before having children, the middle section shows a period of time when the father has a child to guide through life, and then the rightmost scene lacks the presence of the father as the son must learn how to carry on alone.
Encaustic, pastel, pen, and paper, 24” x 30”
This piece examines the end stage of the relationship between a father and son. Here the men are framed more distantly as the viewer is distanced from the scene and the men are apparently distanced from each other. Rather than intimate touch being a main form of communication, here the men partake in a shared activity wherein the father flies a kite with his son. The two men appear experienced as though they have performed this task together before. The lesson of the kite becomes a metaphor for all shared lessons passed down through generations. The necessity for these lessons are met by the abrupt reality of time as the older figure suddenly disappears and the son must confidently stand to fly his kite alone.
Detail