This painting is based on the tragic Greek myth of Daedalus and his son, Icarus, who were imprisoned on an island. In order to escape, Daedalus invented and fashioned a pair of wings made of feathers and wax for both he and his son. Before departing, Daedalus instructed his son to fly the middle course as a trajectory too low would cause the wings weighted down with moisture from the water, and flying too high would cause the wax to melt. Soon after departure, however, Icarus was overcome by the thrill of flying and took his course too high, resulting in his wings falling apart.
While wrapping up this painting, I was struck by thinking about the myth in new ways.
In the past, I've seen the myth of Icarus as a metaphor for the idea of playing things safe vs taking risks in my art career. However, after working on these two paintings, particularly this one, I've come to see myself now more as the father rather than the son. This may be in part due to the fact that my daughter graduated this spring and is now getting ready to leave for school.
But it also made me think that there is more to the myth of Icarus than just being a cautionary tale. I see it as a metaphor for children leaving their parents, venturing out into the world on their own. With or in spite of their parent's advice, each child has to find their own way, making mistakes along the way. The fact that the child leaves is a kind of loss.
