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Fromme-Douglas approaches his work with great curiosity and honour. He may spend countless weeks researching, collecting information and photographing his concepts. He must be fully satisfied that he has connected and understood his subject matter way before the first brushstroke is ever put to the canvas. Once he has developed his image, Peter’s next step is to begin the actual painting. Each single stroke of every individual colour is all planned, in advance, in his mind. He paints every single detail for a reason. All these different elements contribute to the honesty and integrity he gives to his specific chosen subject matter. ‘The Significance of a Moment’ is by far, no exception. At first glance of the image the viewer is drawn to the father who is in mid conversation with his son. Our moment, as the viewer, slows down precisely here! We eternalize the situation. It evokes our emotions and the image gives us no choice but to slow down and recall our own unique memories. Peter’s intention was to do just that. It is a reminder of how we sometimes forget to enjoy the journey. One should be thinking of how to get more pleasure from the tiniest of moments, instead of racing as fast as we can to the end result. The two sit under a tree on the golf course waiting for the storm to pass. Storms are very natural occurrences in our lives. They come and they go, as do the different storms that families endure and wade themselves through. The tree the pair sits under is an Apple tree. Peter specifically placed the duo at the base of the tree to parallel the relationship of the father and son with the roots of the tree. The parallelism is; roots signify the strength of the foundation that family represents in both children’s and parent’s lives. It is the base of the pillar of strength. The pillar is the tree itself. Trees are the great symbols of family and form the structure used in deciphering and tracing the history of family genealogy. As our eye veers down the golf club held by the father we also notice a half-eaten apple in his hand. As we near the end of the club, we see to the lower right side an apple that has fallen from the tree. The apple exemplifies the old proverb: ‘The apple does not fall far from the tree’. To the right of the first apple we catch a glimpse of the second apple lying at the base of a set of Ping golf clubs. The clubs are a symbol of quality and tradition synonymous with the game of golf and Ping. Our eye next leads us to the trunk and upwards towards the full foliage. The lush and healthy foliage embodies the glory of love, life and the happiness of the family. So too, does the lush foreground of green grass. A sign of never ending fertility and growth.
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