The Weight of the World

I’ve loved painting my series of people without facial features. The viewer of the art must use their imagination as to the subject’s feelings and emotions. They combine whimsy with imperfection - such can be with a woman. I was excited to create a women “holding things”. It almost seems as there is no end to the things women CHOOSE to hold and are EXPECTED to hold in this world - even, it seems sometimes, the weight of the world. As Maira Kalman states in her book, the woman “may be exhausted from holding things and be disheartened…with good reason. But then there is the next moment and the next day and hold on.” Women are innately care givers, the heart of the home, juggling so many responsibilities, trying to hold it all together - creating beauty along the way. In my woman without facial features, the viewer can study the piece and make an assumption…what is this woman feeling with all she holds? Owning a piece of original art is like owning a small piece of the artist’s creative DNA. It’s not just a painting. It’s a moment that evokes a mood that unfolds a conversation.