Backyard Portraits of My Dad in North Carolina
Long hair, no cares.
Dad lives in a castle atop his own mountain. Ok not literally, but he did find his perfect home in the North Carolina countryside where the only sound you hear is the wind through the trees and a creek nearby. We sat on the porch looking at the moon and he said “Sometimes that creek is a little too loud.” As someone who lives under the flight path in San Diego, I thought that was hysterical.
Dad is retired now; however, he prefers to say he quit. He was a commercial airline pilot and now he is a full-time artist. He originally picked up sketching so he would have something to do in his old age when he could no longer swing a golf club. Drawing kept him company during layovers and killed time when waiting around in the airport. He studied hard, practiced consistently, taught figure drawing classes, and painted in the Chicago Art Museum. He painted a replica of American Gothic that would blow your freaking mind.
Dad had been growing his hair out since the beginning of quarantine. He was so excited when his hair was finally long enough to put in a ponytail. Doesn’t he just look like an artist who blasts the Grateful Dead while doing his morning yoga? The look suits him to say the least.
These portraits were taken over Thanksgiving weekend. It had been one year since Dad and I had seen each other due to the pandemic. We had never been away from each other for that long. Phone calls and FaceTime can only tide one over for so long.
Dad mentioned that he was thinking about chopping his hair off so of course I had to take his picture before he did. He was out in the backyard tidying up the yard in his hat that he wore to keep the hair out of his face. The sky was perfectly overcast and the landscape was unbeatable. I grabbed my camera and asked him to be my model. Dad typically prefers to keep a straight face in pictures, but I am glad I got a few of his smile. Every time I thought I got enough quality photos, I’d spot a new location and we would take some more. He was such a good sport. I’m sure I said “That’s a wrap!” about four times. These are now my most treasured portraits to date.
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