Narrative:

Every night ends with either Kelsey or I rocking our youngest in the same chair we’ve rocked all of our kids in, and reading a story under the same lamp’s glow that’s illuminated our evening routines since we first became parents.

One evening, as Kelsey and my daughter were reading and rocking, I quietly watched and took in the scene. I found myself reminiscing for the next few hours as my mind was flooded with memories of all our previous reading and rocking moments. As I sat awake in our living room well past midnight, practically meditating on these memories and looking through old photos and videos, I realized that I wanted to translate the calm and the colors of that routine into a painting.

The peaceful blue light of dusk gently moving through cream curtains.

The dark shadows contrasting the coppery brass lamp’s golden glow.

The hazy drifting in and out of sleep as the story reached its end…along with our kids’ sporadic and unexpectedly energetic interruptions that delayed the turning of each page.

These details are what this painting is all about. As my kids grow up, I find myself up late just thinking about how many of our little routines will one day only be a memory. I wish I could keep the pages from turning. Instead, this painting will have to do.

…And I sold it to a friend so I wouldn’t have to see it and cry about it all the time.