2019

When I first started painting "Farmer's Wife" I had no intention of doing a portrait of my mother. As I began applying color and texture, images of the chicken, woman, and boiling pot popped out. I had no choice but to pursue the image.

Growing up in a family of poor beet farmers the image of my mother catching a chicken and duly "taking care" of it prior to cooking it came to my mind. Her hairdo and prairie dress are before her time, but because she had a hard life and did most things the old fashioned way they seemed appropriate . The feathers in her hair and around her clothes, depict her sense of wildness and strength.