December Dream brings together two recurring threads in David Heatwole’s work: the pursuit of an artist’s dream and the visual language of his D.J. Priest Molecules series.
Created during a period when Heatwole was working on the road as a commercial truck driver, the painting features his recurring Molecule of Faith character—a figure that has traveled through his artwork in different forms and settings. The character also once appeared on the side of an eighteen-wheeler operated by OISK Trucking, where it helped promote Heatwole’s earlier Art for Charity Month initiative.
Within the painting, the Molecule of Faith becomes more than a recurring character. It represents persistence, belief, and the movement of an idea through time and circumstance. Like many works in Heatwole’s Dream series, December Dream reflects the experience of continuing to pursue a creative vision while living within the practical demands of everyday life.
The work also connects to Heatwole’s broader interest in energy, information, connection, and the unseen relationships between things. A simple character becomes a carrier of an idea—moving from painting, to public imagery, and back into the artist’s evolving visual world.
