IS THAT ME?

Painting a cactus is like painting a self-portrait. It’s too real, too humorous. This pipe organ cactus has been telling herself stories in the dark. She’s entertained images of smooth green skin, symmetrical arms, and a full set of needles. She’s longed to be covered in blooms, to offer ample shade for company, and to gently mingle with the forget-me-nots. Oh, how she wants that image of herself to be true. Then comes the sun.

The truth can sometimes greet you like a stranger. Light faithfully casts out all the false narratives she’s written. Her shadow is gentle but direct, and indisputably defined. It’s all there in black and white. Exposed — all her extra-long needles and the ones missing too, her aging form and unpolished silhouette. She’s surprised and reminded too — the height to which she’s climbed, the scars that have healed, her fixed trunk, and the direction in which she is growing. This she can clearly see.

In the dark, in the place where she envied and made-up stories, she forgot about what made her green and hardy and beautiful. The sun faithfully brings clarity that feeds the heart within (her beautiful lined skin).

36 x 24 in
​mixed media painting