The Canyon and The Apple Tree

My father’s house is on Canyon Road, which leads into the mountainous valleys and canyons beyond.  He has lived in that house his entire life, and he is living the end of his days there now.  An image that will always remind me of my father will be the apple tree.  He has several apple trees on his property, and they have been his pride and joy since his boyhood.  He tends to them with great care, and boasts every year on the number of bushels he picked. 

A couple months ago, I knew that I would be painting oil paintings for my sisters as Christmas presents.  I did not know what they would be, I planned on going with the flow and letting the paintings reveal themselves to me; as most of my paintings tend to do.  I started painting one of a lone apple tree against a blue blackground; recreating one I painted for her as a child as I sat with her in her art classes at the university.  Not knowing why, and not questioning, I sat that one aside and started on one a bit different. 

The following two paintings came to life.  I started on them before my father became as sick as he is; and now that he is spending what we all believe to be his last days as he endures the end stages of his heart failure; these two paintings have more meaning than I would have ever expected them to.  I cried many tears during the time I painted them, and as I would sit looking at the finished products, waiting for the paint to dry for days and days. 

They are a vision of the canyon and the apple tree.  To me, they are a symbol of my father; and I cherish that they revealed themselves to me.