Last week, St. Louis artist Cbabi Bayoc finished his masterpiece: the “365 Days with Dad” project.
Bayoc launched his series of paintings of African-American fathers as a year-long effort, but it turned into a two-year endeavor for reasons including the fact that the father of three spends as much time parenting as he does painting.
When Bayoc began “365 Days with Dad,” his daughter Jurni was 11. Now she’s blossomed into a teenager, who’ll start driving in three years.
For now, Bayoc’s the one driving Jurni and her younger brothers Ajani and Borago around, living what he paints.
“I go get the kids at 3:30, come home, sit down for a second, maybe paint a little more, get them to wash the dishes,” Bayoc said.
Bayoc began his series of fatherhood portraits out of necessity. His canvases and his wife’s cupcakes and cookies from their SweetArt Bakery and restaurant in South City weren’t bringing in enough money. So they wondered: What if Bayoc painted one father-themed picture every day for a year?
The project developed snags. Being a father often took precedence over painting fathers. As the series dragged into its second year, Bayoc took on other painting jobs and his daughter Jurni noticed some visible changes in her father.
“At the start of it, it was interesting but in the middle I noticed he needs to sleep a lot more because he was getting a lot more gray hair,” Jurni said.
Over the course of “365 Days,” Bayoc filled his canvases with images from inside his head and from special requests from buyers, including family photographs.
One painting shows a father and son reading on the couch. It hangs in the library of an elementary school in Arkansas, a quiet testimony to the power of a good example. Another features a little girl wearing a royal blue dress and clinging to her father’s leg. The child – who’s now a woman – wore the dress to her daddy’s funeral when she was only 3.
Bayoc’s own father died when he was 11. He remembers their fishing trips and motorcycle rides. He passes down that fatherly influence by helping the boys with their art projects. Eight-year-old Borago likes his father’s style.
“He taught me how to draw,” Borago said.
Ten-year-old Ajani also recalled some of the ways his father was there when he was younger, and now.
“He taught me how to tie my shoes, and he helps me when I can’t find the meaning of a word,” Ajani said.
Bayoc also helps his daughter with her own creative endeavors. She’s often at his side when he delivers the wedding cakes that his wife has created.
“[He taught me] how to set up weddings and more about photography,” Jurni said.
Angela Williams of Atlanta knows Bayoc from her time in St. Louis, and she knows the importance of a father who’s involved in the minutia of his children’s daily lives. Her ex-husband has coached their 12- and 18-year-old boys’ sports teams, taught them to make brownies and taken them to Sunday School.
Soon, painting number 365 will be displayed in Williams’ home.
“About a month into his venture I said, ‘I want to be the last one,’” Williams said.
Williams didn’t ask Bayoc to create any specific image. She wanted him to use his imagination.
After “365 Days,” Bayoc will get right back to work on several upcoming projects, including a book and a traveling exhibition of the fatherhood paintings. Another commission is a series of nine-by-eleven-foot murals at the Missouri History Museum that he’ll paint with local children.
But first, a toast, to the completion of “365.” Bayoc plans to celebrate with friends and champagne.
“Yeah, I’ll be having a party,” he said. “Then, I’ll still be just as busy.”
Edited for length and reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.
