On Watch

Protect and serve – while these are words often linked to the military, they have a deeper and timeless meaning associated with those we would... more

by Steve Henderson

Original - Sold

Price

Not Specified

Dimensions

36.000 x 30.000 x 1.500 inches

Title

On Watch

Artist

Steve Henderson

Medium

Painting - Oil On Canvas

Description

Protect and serve – while these are words often linked to the military, they have a deeper and timeless meaning associated with those we would call, “ordinary people.”

The unsung heroes, the ones who guide and protect and serve and love every moment of every day – these are the parents, the grandparents, the aunts and uncles and families of innocent children.

The artwork, On Watch, takes us, the viewer, out onto a stormy beach – the waves crash against the rocks, the wind blows cruelly, the clouds gather and darken in the menace of an impending storm. At the edge of a surf a young woman – the watcher – stands and looks out to the sea.

Asleep on her shoulder, calm and protected, is a young child. Her fingers lightly brushing across the child’s hair, the woman is alert and on watch, knowing that she is the buffer of protection between the storm and the child.

Why are they here?

This we do not know, but as it is part of the story, it is one that we create and follow ourselves. The image is an embodiment of what people who care for the innocent do every day – and while some days it may not seem dramatic (we hold their hands tightly in the parking lot, we soothe their nightmares, we buckle them into the car seat), what we do is strong and good, wise and honest, right and honorable: we serve and protect, the strong looking out for the weak, the grown-ups being grown-ups and being there for the child. We are the watchers.

We do this so regularly, so much a part of our ordinary day, that it’s easy to forget how important it is, how vital, how necessary. Because the world, to a child, has the potential to be a dangerous place, and without the adults to watch, the innocent can get lost and hurt indeed.

But they are safe, and protected, and loved, in the arms of the ones who are On Watch.

Featured in 42 Fine Art America groups.

First Place Winner in Your Best art contest, sponsored by Original Oil Paintings group, September 2020.
First Place Winner in the Oil Painting contest sponsored by the Fine Art America group, Traditional Painting -- December, 2019
Third Place Winner in the painting contest sponsored by the Fine Art America group, Oil Painters of America Online Showcase -- November, 2019
Second Place Winner in the 2019 Prize Winners Only contest sponsored by the Fine Art America group, Prize Winners Gallery -- December 2019
First Prize, I Paint Because No One Listens contest, sponsored by the Fine Art America group, Fine Art America Based Masters Advocacy -- December 2019
Third Place Winner in the Fantasy art contest, sponsored by the Fine Art America group, Wall Art for Home and Business -- December 2019
First Place Winner, Best Painting or Photograph Contest, January 2020
First Place Winner, Masters: This Is My Signature contest, sponsored by the Masters Artist Group — August 2020

Uploaded

September 18th, 2019

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Viewed 20,137 Times  -  Last Visitor from Beverly Hills, CA on 12/02/2023 at 3:18 PM

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