Recording our Love
I sit in the white wicker rocking chair near the window with my feet up on a foot stool. I’ve just finished nursing my newborn son. I rub his back, feeling the warmth of his tiny body relaxing into slumber. I am tired too and I relax further into the chair and close my eyes. I want to remember this moment so I make an effort to record everything about it, the contours of his body, the weight of him against my chest, the feel of the cloud-soft blanket wrapped around him, his slow and steady breathing, the quiet stillness of the nursery. Almost 28 years later I am able to pull this memory forward and cherish it once more.
Over the following months and years I set up and took photographs and painted him as another way of cherishing and remembering. Two early photographs stand out in my mind. One was taken a few days after he came home for the first time. He was jaundiced so I would lay him on a blanket in the soft winter sunshine next to the window. I had my husband hold his foot and photographed the tiny foot nestled in his daddy’s large, protective hand. The other was a shot I set up with my son leaning against my shoulder in front of a window. The side light caught my cheek and the downy back of his head with the rest of the scene in shadow for a lovely chiaroscuro effect.
The connections we have with people are what give our lives meaning and sustain us. But, these moments are fleeting and people, sadly, are not with us forever, so it is important to capture them so that we may gather sustenance from them later.
The Human Touch
As an artist, the human figure is one of the most interesting and beautiful things to paint. I love the contours, curves, and poignant beauty of one human touching another. I am especially drawn to paintings of a parent cradling their child. It speaks of a deep and abiding human connection and love that sings to my soul.
Creating the Bond
Last week I spoke to a young father who told me that he makes a point to schedule his time so that he can spend time with his infant daughter, giving her baths, reading bedtime stories, playing. He said that a friend gave him the advice to make sure to prioritize bonding with his daughter now because she will grow up quickly and the time to create the enduring connection is now.
How true that is.
This story and my own memories of bonding with my son inspired me to paint a small watercolor of a father’s hand cradling a baby.
Another Treatment and a Series to Come
I have decided to create a series of paintings like this in oil, beginning with the same subject, as an 8″ x 8″ rendition. Below you will see the beginning of the under painting. I will finish that, then paint another layer in color. I am planning to create a soft, quiet painting to communicate the intimate connection between father and child.
