Places.

I named this painting “The Places We Will Go” because I was thinking of my youngest and our early bike rides together. The countless ones with him in the seat or trailer attached to my bike, then his own shaky, training wheels ones, the even shakier sans training wheels ones that eventually dissolved into long, effortless, look-before-you-cross-the-street ones through the neighborhood or on the way to school. The ones were I rollerbladed and he pedaled. Ones where he got red-faced, sweaty, and painfully slow. Ones where he flew, a little blur of life and boundless energy I realized I’d never be able to contain or fully protect.

We’ve lived in several different literal and not-so-literal places. We’ve traveled through dark times and discovered family waiting for us on the other side. 

I don’t have many vivid memories from my own early childhood, but I do remember learning to ride a bike, the driveway that seemed a mile long, my dad utterly convinced for some insane reason that I could do the impossible– balance on just two wheels. The joy of actually doing it. 

If I had to pick just one symbol for childhood, I’d pick a bicycle. It speaks to me of where we’ve been, where we’re going, and the unknown places we might hope to go. It says yesterday and tomorrow in the same breath.

When I decided to do a print of the month, I knew “The Places We Will Go” had to be the first in what I hope is an ongoing practice. For the entire month of October, all “The Places We Will Go” prints will be 15% off when you enter “places” at checkout.