2021

My friend Karen was a social worker and a fighter for social justice and civil rights issues. As such, she was critical of our society, and at times quite angry with the injustices around us. Then, about ten years ago, she went through a mysterious change; her anger disappeared and it was replaced by a feeling of peace that one feels in her presence that quietly radiates from her. She told me stories while I painted her, but the way she looked at me was as if she knew a great mystical secret that she could never divulge. Rather than painting a portrait of a wealthy or powerful person, I wanted to share, for posterity, the extraordinary beauty of this modest and totally genuine human being.