ballad of the barrel king: a study in movement and memory

Three month’s after my dad retired from driving 18-wheelers, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Two years later, his tremor was getting worse and his memory was declining. So, in January of 2020, I sent him watercolors, paint brushes, paper, envelopes and stamps thinking this would help him neurologically and give us something to do together from a far. My dad had never picked up a paintbrush before but raised three artist children. My idea was to start a call and response mail art project with him. I thought he would paint one piece, send it to me, and I would make work in response. But, once he started painting he wouldn’t stop. Then COVID hit and sent us all inside. So we started a weekly family painting zoom every Saturday with my siblings, nieces and kids. Spanning four states: Pennsylvania, New York, Missouri and Rhode Island. We all started to look at his work and respond in various media. When I asked him what he was painting, he would smile coyly. I can only assume from where he was sitting, he was looking outside the apartment windows at the parking lot.