A Painting for Will

acrylic on board, 24x18", 2010, NFS

My wife and I have some very special friends and a few of them are the Prestridge family. The patriarch of the family, Jesse, is an old friend of mine. We use to be room mates for a time after I came home from serving a two year proselytizing mission for my church. Over the years I have really valued the blessing of having a friend like Jesse in whom I can share my thought and seek advice when needed. Unfortunately as life sometimes goes, I find it hard to stay in touch like I should and regret the days that fly by without hanging out with old friends. Fortunately for Jesse, the guilt of not keeping in touch often leads me to giving a nice piece of art to him and his family. This painting kinda falls into that category.

Jesse's wife called me and wanted to know if I could put together a simply jersey painting to be placed in his son-on-the-way's room before May. She described something very fitting for a newborn's room but I instantly thought about giving them something that hopefully the son, Will, would love to have hanging throughout all his years. So I developed this composition based from various photo references. The numbers on the jerseys represent all three of little Will's initials. Now the only job left to do is to ensure that Will grows up to be a War Eagle fan; anything less will be very offensive! Here's to meaningful friendships - Jared