This was a painting done on commission for Chuck Squire, who lives on the Rappahannock River in Virginia.

It is 2 feet tall by 10 feet long in 3 pieces.

Essentially, it is a narrative mural of the River and change. For nearly 70 years my familiy has visited or lived at the river, calling it home, watching the tides rise and fall, swimming in the water and enjoying life by the banks.

I see in this painting as a person looking from the future to the past. The past is represented as the children playing on the right. The River flows from left to right, the sun rises to the right and sets to the left. To me, this represents a cycle of the past becoming the present and the present re-defining the past. The sections of the painting representing a week (the left square side of the painting is Sunday, the far right is Saturday, and the middle larger portion is the week). Each workday of the week is represented in the "insets" painted in black and white in the middle, representing thoughts of the past and thoughts of the River, like fading pictures of memories.

Thanks to Chuck, Lynne, Aunt Mary Lou, Uncle John, My Mother, and Uncle Bob for inspiration and guidance.

photo by Jeff Baker