- Zachary Proctor, a cancer patient, creates paintings for Primary Children's Hospital.
- His most recent artwork, titled "And a Little Child Shall Lead Them," is inspired by his health journey.
- Proctor's painting symbolizes empowerment and the support people need during medical challenges.
SALT LAKE CITY — Two new paintings will soon be on display in a waiting room at Primary Children's Hospital. At first glance, they're just whimsical art designed to appeal to the younger clientele. But upon closer examination, the paintings tell a much deeper story.
The artwork originated with a commission in 2021 from the Dale Johnson endowed chair for pediatric surgery, Dr. Eric Scaife. Hospital surgeons moved offices, and Scaife used the endowment to commission artist Zachary Proctor to create something to hang on the walls there.
Scaife left it up to Proctor to come up with the ideas for the images.
"Paintings that would give the kids a moment of escape, a moment away from what they were doing, dealing with," Proctor said. "Nothing to do with the medical profession and something that a child can get lost in."
Proctor began brainstorming, but then informed Scaife that something had gotten in the way of further progress — cancer. He had a sarcoma in his chest wall.
Proctor said up until then he hadn't been to a doctor in 20 years and was a stranger to a medical system.
"It was a very confusing space, and it was very foreign," he said. "All security and certainty were taken away from me. And I suddenly wondered what's happening."
Scaife directed him to sarcoma specialist Dr. Kevin Jones at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Since most sarcoma patients are children or young adults, Jones said, Proctor faced a grueling treatment designed for patients much younger.
"The treatment that we use for osteosarcoma is intentionally harsh, and it is literally treatment with drugs that are intended to push a person's body all the way up until but not quite including death. And that is the way that we can kill most of the tumor cells," Jones said.
As Proctor went through surgery and chemo, the commission transformed into something more than a painting to entertain. It became an opportunity for inspiration.
"When he was in the waiting room, scared of what he was going to go through, he thought, 'I could leave a message to these kids,'" Scaife said. "And it did become a message of personal inspiration and courage."
One day, Proctor observed his two young children playing with their toy animals and creating imaginary parades.
"'Wow, what if I could bring that parade to life and let him (his son, Walter) be the conductor of an actual parade?'" he thought.
Proctor enlisted friend and artist Lane Bennion, and the two got to work on two paintings, two perspectives of the same subject — a parade of animals — an elephant, a lion, birds, a polar bear, a rhinoceros and more.
"And I wanted him to be walking and leading a parade of animals that were maybe spirit animals for him that were helping him," Proctor said.
"I wanted to give the kids a sense of empowerment, that they could take charge of what was happening, in a sense, and they could lead their own parade. That people would follow them and follow their lead," he said.
It took four years to finish the project. During that time, Proctor's cancer returned three times.
"And so this painting in a way is part of my own health journey," a tearful Proctor told a crowd that gathered at an event to debut the work, titled "And a Little Child Shall Lead Them," at David Ericson Fine Art.
When he looks at the paintings, Proctor said, he sees all the people who have walked with him — his wife and two children, his father, the doctors, Lane Bennion and many others.
"We need others to join us as we walk through our trials. And that's sort of what the painting is about is as we face struggles, we need others to walk with us," he said.
