As with many of the other paintings, there is a return to the theme of
relationships. In this scene, after the painting was complete, it
seemed clear there was a bond of some sort between the two bodies
suspended in the night sky. It seemed more than mearly a gravitational
one. It seemed as if the smaller body was "being led" or "being given
encouragement" of some kind as it commensed on its first "flight".
Small birds are given this same lesson when they are very young. So
too, "Mother and Child" shows the invisible bond of two beings as they
share a common spot in the universe. If I were to guess, the "baby"
would have no trouble learning to venture out on its own this first
time out alone.

"Mother and Child" also attempts to capture a feeling of both vastness
and freedom in flight. I included large canyon walls and a small lake
in the piece. These two natural elements further convey a "dwarfing"
feeling amidst a vast ocean of night sky. We too, as children, must
find our way in the cosmos. All of us are alone, yet never isolated
from whom we can learn many things.