The Magic of Attraction

A round wooden panel, 50 cm across. Texture and oil, from the mini-art catalogue.

A father down on his knees. He has come to his son's level, and that is the main gesture in the picture.

His hands are on the frame of a kite, setting it up. The little boy stands beside him on unsteady legs, reaching for the sky.

The kite ties earth to sky, childhood to being grown. The two of them hold it together.

The wind is light and knocks nobody over. There is exactly as much sky as a launch needs.

The attraction in the title runs both ways. The father reaches for the son with attention, the son reaches for the father the way a plant goes for light.

“The Magic of Attraction” hangs almost anywhere at this size, most often in a nursery.

The kite in their fingers works as a guide. When it climbs, your eyes go up with it, and that happens without your say-so.

One of them gives roots, the other reminds you what flying without fear was like.