Artist Cbabi Bayoc is almost half way through "365 Days With Dad" - a project he started Jan. 1, 2012, to produce paintings of African-American fathers and grandfathers in all the many ways they interact with their children. That goal to ensure that positive images of African-American fathers are represented in art has long been important to Bayoc, who lost his own father at a young age.
A painting a day has proven to be an enormous commitment and an opportunity for a wealth of feedback. It is also allowing Bayoc to make enough through his art to continue painting full time.
Beacon reporters Nancy Fowler and Kristen Hare will follow Bayoc through the rest of the year, finding out what motivates and sustains him and talking with people who have commissioned works.
From Cbabi Bayoc's 365 Days with Dad, day 227 shows a man, his son and grandson who all share a love of drumming. Roger Humphries Jr. grew up watching his father play and playing himself. As an adult, he’s still watching his father behind those drums and, now, sometimes, his children, too.
Cbabi Bayoc used Facebook as the vehicle to sell his work and spread his message, but he never expected it to spread quite so far. As of Jan. 2, the Facebook page for his project, 365 Days with Dad, had 4,549 likes with 1,359 people actively engaging. It has led to commissions from around the world.
There’s no partridge in a pear tree and nary a turtle dove. But “365 Days with Dad” does in some ways resemble the classic Christmas song, in that there’s a lot of counting involved.
Hooked on the speed of digital connections, we can't seem to avoid slipping into a culture of distraction. But it need not be so. The Beacon offers St. Louisans the simple gifts of paying attention and the commitment to sustain interest in important issues over time.
From day 192 of 365 Days with Dad, artist Cbabi Bayoc captures the image and the spirit of a man who's working hard to care for his family. (Bayoc is now on painting 239. The project will continue into 2013.)
Every day, St. Louis artist Cbabi Bayoc spends eight hours painting fathers and 24 hours being one. He and his wife have three children, and as Thanksgiving draws near, they’re thankful for each other and for many aspects of the “365 Days with Dad.”
On day 161 of Cbabi Bayoc's 365 Days with Dad, a piece with a strong and subtle message travels to Arkansas. In this town, nearly half of the 450 children are minorities, and 53 percent are from single-parent homes.
Artist Cbabi Bayoc hopes that when people view his positive images of African-American fathers, they’ll fold those perceptions into their belief systems. St. Louisans can learn from not only Bayoc’s but also other local African-American art. (Art from a work by Zimbabe Nkenya)
From day 133 of 365 Days with Dad by Cbabi Bayoc, a young Texas poet finds three father-figures to step in when his own father is absent. "When I am a man" is also the title of the autobiographical poem that includes the line, "I'm a good choice you refused to make."
SweetArt bakery, owned by artist Cbabi Bayoc and his wife Reine Bayoc, serves as studio and gallery for the painter known for his “365 Days with Dad” project, sharing that gallery-and-more distinction with several other St. Louis establishments.
Cbabi Bayoc · Jennifer Finley · Reine Bayoc · Jo VanZant · Jonathon Sterling · Brian Francis · DeShawn Bell · Russell Makepeace · William Bell · Peggy Makepeace
SweetArt Bakery · Portfolio Gallery · Saint Louis Art Museum · Metropolitan Gallery
Washington University · Fathers' Support Center · Turner Center For The Arts · VSA Missouri · PPRC Photography Project · Public Insight Network
When you register with the Beacon, you can save your searches as news alerts, rsvp for events, manage your donations and receive news and updates from the Beacon team.
Take a look at our tutorials to help you get the hang of the new site.
Meeting in St. Louis next week, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious will have its first opportunity as an assembled group to consider what to do after the Vatican issued a mandate for change this spring. It calls on the conference to reorganize and more strictly observe church teachings.
When a family of four goes to the St. Louis Zoo, they can be forgiven for not knowing it will cost them $60, $72 if they park. If they can't pay, the alternative is to tell the kids they can't do what kids do at the zoo.
Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley gave reporters less than a half-hour’s notice today when he announced that conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh’s sculptured bust will be formally installed in the Capitol at 1 p.m.
They arrived four years ago as fifth-graders, behind in their work and not used to rigorous classes, but they've advanced rapidly and have a strong academic grounding for high school.
While the governor has commonly vetoed bills from the GOP-controlled legislature since he took office in 2009, this year may provide a test of how much weight his objections hold. That’s because for the first time since he became governor, Republicans hold veto-proof majorities in both chambers.
With congressional probes of the Internal Revenue Service and Benghazi likely to remain in the spotlight, both allies and critics of President Barack Obama are predicting that fallout from those and other revelations could endanger key parts of his second-term agenda.
The Beacon's Mary Delach Leonard and Rob Koenig extensively covered flooding in 2011 in Missouri. Now this coverage is compiled in an iBook. Read the stories.
“We speak in old language in a new witty way with contemporary feel,” Sean Curran said about the OTSL production of "Pirates of Penzance," which is set in the 1870s. Much of the Gilbert and Sullivan satire, however, focuses on still-relevant human foibles, government officials’ ineptitude and opera excesses.
The feeling is openness, with soaring, airy spaces planned for easy and logical circulation and planned to reveal art not only to its best advantage but also appropriately and respectfully. Still, the building is notable more for its architectural reticence than its audacity.
When a Chicago photographer found more than a thousand unidentified slides, he set out to discover the couple behind them -- with a little help from social media.
Donna Korando is the Beacon's arts and features editor. You can contact her at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.
Speaking to reporters at Monsanto, Howard Buffett warned that future generations would foot the bill for irresponsible soil use. He urged leaders to address thorny issues such as malnutrition and environmental destruction.
Twenty winners will split a million dollars and a wide array of professional services after this year's Arch Grants competition. Victors will also see one-on-one business mentoring in their prize package. The diverse group includes everything from biotech concerns to fashion enterprises.
Eleven IT entrepreneurs vied for the attention of more than 70 investors at Capital Innovators' annual Demo Day. This year's crop of hopefuls wooed potential investors with eight-minute presentations on a wide variety of business ideas.
Innovation and entrepreneurial activity are on the rise in St. Louis, especially in bioscience, technology and alternative energy. The Beacon's InnovationSTL section focuses on the people who are part of this wave, what they're doing and how this is shaping our future. To many St. Louisans, this wave is not yet visible. InnovationSTL aims to change that. We welcome you to share your knowledge, learn more about this vibrant trend and discuss its impact.
The Academy of Science-St. Louis hosts tours of EarthDance, an organic farm, and the Monsanto Agronomics and Breeding Facility May 21-22. The workshop is meant to prompt discussion and answer questions about these two competing philosophies of food production.
Speaking to reporters at Monsanto, Howard Buffett warned that future generations would foot the bill for irresponsible soil use. He urged leaders to address thorny issues such as malnutrition and environmental destruction.
Vernon Bowman's challenge to Monsanto Co.'s patent on its Roundup Ready soybean seeds was billed as a David vs. Goliath contest. Goliath won and won big. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that an Indiana soybean farmer had violated Monsanto's patent on its genetically engineered soybean seeds.
Sally Altman is the Beacon's Health and Science editor. You can contact her at saltman@stlbeacon.org.
When the Civil War broke out, Grant rejoined the military. He may not have liked it, but it was what he was good at: fighting. The battle that cemented his reputation began 150 years ago yesterday.
Democracy is our answer to perhaps our most difficult ethical problem: How do we ethically protect the social cooperation that makes our society strong, while respecting the rights of individuals to pursue vastly divergent visions of the good life and deeply conflicting moral and political beliefs?
When the first group of students who entered KIPP Inspire charter school in south St. Louis were ready to be promoted out to area high schools, seeing how they've done was a natural follow-up.
Donna Korando is the Beacon's Voices editor. You can contact her and submit opinion pieces for possible publication at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.