From Generation to Generation

Our family Cadillac has served the family for 3 generations. My mom and dad bought it in 1953 to haul their 8 children around town and across the country. Station wagons had not yet been invented (except 'woodys', which didn't appeal), and this fine vehicle has 3 rows of seats. You can imagine the sibling action around who got stuck on the middle row of uncomfortable folding seats. Front seat center always went to the person who was most nauseous. Many a family vacation driving for weeks somewhere and back found this fine vehicle broken down on the side of the road, with a local gas station mechanic to the rescue.
Other cars came and went, but the Caddy stayed with us from one generation to the next and the next. It is hard to imagine my family without this icon. It served as the royal limo for weddings and funerals. My big brother John loved cars and kept it in prime condition, and now his son Johnny carries that weighty responsibility.
I started painting the Caddy in the early 2000s, a small frontal view as a gift to my sister. Then my brother wanted a big one, again a frontal view, but this time with our family dairy, “Artevel Farms” in the background. In the process of creating that piece, I did a crazy bright colored one in gouache, mainly to let off some steam!
In this painting, the Caddy is posed in a modern setting: in front of the airplane hangar in Syracuse, Kansas--juxtaposing our changing means of transportation—past and present mingled. Those who have gone before are represented in the stars in the night sky, watching on (Daniel 12:3). My father loved the Bible verse about the great cloud of witnesses that are watching on (Hebrews 12:1). The shadow in the foreground represents the future--may we be people who cast as long a shadow as those who have gone before, inspired by their example.
Quite a car. Quite a family. Quite a heritage.