My Greatest Artwork (3-9-07 Version)

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” - 3 John 1:4

This is my youngest daughter who is now 16 (when I painted this). I set aside my pursuit of art to raise my girls. As I started to paint again, I was confronted with the struggle of creating: a blank canvas, an ugly stage, followed by glimpses of beauty and hope, then back to the ugly, struggle, and hard work...just like raising my beautiful girls. But then the artwork begins to hum with a life of its own-a larger, stronger, and more beautiful life emerges and I know I've got something exquisite. That is art. That is my girls now—my greatest artwork.