Catch!

Today is Scot's and my son, James’ birthday. Happy Birthday, Dear One. You are lucky because you are a kid who really got to know his father. You had lots of adventures, just you two; but there was always the ‘us’ to come back to. Our family. Our little trio. Our little band of gypsies—complete with road show.

Scot and I were together for 15 years before James was born. We could have very easily missed it. Scot came to the notion of fatherhood with trepitude. His own father was complicated and demanding, concepts like ‘ethics’ and ‘morals’ were discussed. I think for him, he saw the job of father as too big a bite to chew. The actuality of being a father was a whole different matter. He became among the most devoted of fathers.

When James was born in 1992, Scot was reborn. Everything inside him that was innocent and sweet--sprang forth. His work became all about color and simplicity and connection with the brightness of being made eternal--via parenthood.

For ten years, we sold this work at the country’s top juried art fairs. It meant a lot to Scot to have this audience. It was exciting to see so many people respond to and engage with Scot’s profoundly human visual philosophy. I will be taking this and a lot more of Scot’s artwork to NYC in May, as an exhibitor at the Surtex International Licensing Show, held at the Javitts Center.

Today’s piece is another one that has many names, but for today’s purposes, we’ll call it “Catch!” It’s portrays the time of expectation before a child arrives into ones life. It’s about the opening of one’s life to the mystery of service—truly caring for another. I remember a line from the movie, “City Slickers.” “The guys were trying to distract themselves from the reality that they were solidly out in the cold. I think it was Billy Crystal who asks, “What was what was your happiest day of your life?” He immediately excludes the days your kids were born. That’s pretty much a given.