My children are actually 10 years apart (not evident in this painting) but to make it work, I brought them closer in age; the young girl is about 7 or 8, her brother 3 or 4.  She is protective of him.  He is spent, played hard, and has fallen off hard as children do when they rambunctiously race around the house, picking up a toy, discarding it, demanding another game, another mysterious question, seemingly endless in their quest for absorbing every detail of every moment, so perfectly able to live in the moment.

Flash forward.  The Prequel.

I looked at the picture of my son and myself, obviously deep in sleep.  Maybe one dreaming, maybe one not.  Thinking back to a childhood without worries, there is just imagination, inquisitiveness and play.  Adults lose this to a degree.  We scramble around, often seeking something that is lost.  We’re not sure how it got lost or where, or maybe even what it is, but children remind us of that need to dream.

"This may sound glib but it really bears repeating ~ hold fast to your dreams never let them go ~ we need every dreamer everywhere to let greatness flow."

           from the lyrics "Where Dreams Take Us"                                                                          

The brushwork is quite heavy in this painting.  It is an early painting I did, trying to capture a perfect moment in time of familial love.  I was trying to mold my children in real life.  I was mirroring my emotion onto the canvas, trying to reinforce the premise that no matter the age, dreams are necessary; they propel us.  We seek, we stumble, but in sleep there is respite, hopefully.  With dreams that nurture and refresh our spirits, each day we can dream anew, ready for the next adventure, without cynicism, open to the possibilities that are hidden but ready to unfold and which will engage and delight us if we let our guard down.  Children are the best teachers.

Where Dreams Take Us