This image is a great trip down memory lane. Who does not remember swinging on these wooden seats at your local neighborhood park and playing with these red, white, and blue rubber balls when you were a kid. Parc Boyer was our favorite park to go and play when we were kids. Officially Parc Saint-Edouard, it was called Parc Boyer by my generation and previous generations in our neighborhood because it was located on Boyer Street. I guess it was simpler to use the street name of Boyer than the parochial name of Saint-Edouard.

I originally completed this painting back in 1988 but I was dissatisfied with a second bird flying off the swing. It simply did not work. Eighteen years later, I decided to remove the varnish, scrape off the second bird, and paint a red, white, and blue rubber ball in its place. Replacing the second bird with the rubber ball changed the narrative of the painting from a lighthearted one to a more reflective and nostalgic one. I usually hate change, but this was a good change.