Artist Statement

My painting symbolizes both the difficulty and the beauty of living in a body which is rarely free from pain. Both the oak and my pain seem solid, still, steady, and dark. The pain is a part of the stiffening and hardening of my body as a result of fibromyalgia. It seems to be stuck in me, unwilling to allow me to move freely and have normal amounts of energy. Similarly, the oak in the painting no longer has the freedom to grow and move, while all around it movement and vitality continue.