Title: Black Hawk Tree at Fabyan Park
Completed 4/1/06. This painting originally started out as a depiction of the American Indian statue in Fabyan Park, Geneva, IL. The statue is in a state of neglect, and as I would run along there on my daily jogs, I'd always notice how the tree behind it helped to hide it. And I noticed that if I would mention it, people never knew the statue I was talking about. In this painting, I wanted to show the merging of the statue into the tree, and also use it as a metaphor for the plight of the American Indians. Not being able to find out more about the statue, I called it "Black Hawk Tree at Fabyan Park" in honor of the Sauk and Fox chief who did much to resist the relocation movement, and passed through northern Illinois during conflicts in 1831-1832. Luckily enough, Lynn Dransoff at the Fabyan Villa Museum now confirms that the statue was likely fashioned after the Black Hawk statue by Laredo Taft in Oregon, IL.
Media: Acrylic and oil on canvas
Size: 24 x 24
Status: Available, unframed