"Oliver" Orphan Train Series
"Oliver" is the 1st in the artist's Orphan Train series created as a tribute to this historical era in history. A small boy perches atop an overstuffed suitcase, his slight frame swallowed by the weight of his journey. Rendered in muted sepia tones with whispers of graphite gray, his image seems to emerge from an old, faded photograph. His short trousers reveal scuffed knees, and his expression unreadable. He is not quite sorrowful, not quite brave, but caught in the quiet tension between. A single shaft of dusty light falls across his shoulders, illuminating the frayed threads of his jacket and the too-large hat slipping slightly over his brow.
His childhood is interrupted where his young innocence collides with unimaginable resilience. The suitcase beneath him is both throne and burden, its straps straining from contents that likely hold his entire world.
~ Scherell Art