THE WORKS
Captain Terrific and Zoey
Acrylic on canvas
24 × 36
The journey begins with ceremony and companionship. Standing beside Zoey, the young pilot prepares for departure with absolute certainty that imagination alone is enough to launch.
Ticket to Ride
Acrylic on canvas
24 × 36
A cardboard box becomes an aircraft because, in childhood, belief outruns material reality. The painting captures the instant where invention and play become indistinguishable.
Rocket Man
Acrylic on canvas
24 × 36
The closest and most introspective work in the trilogy. Reflection replaces distance. Inside the goggles, Zoey appears again — reminding us that even imagined journeys are rarely taken alone.
About the Series
This trilogy reflects an ongoing theme in Charles Presti’s work: the suspension of lived moments through structure, geometry, and emotional restraint.
Rather than illustrating fantasy itself, the paintings examine the emotional mechanics of imagination — how children create stability, identity, companionship, and possibility from the simplest materials around them.
The result is both playful and reflective: a contemporary figurative series grounded equally in memory and observation.
