Day 31

As I was running errands today I was suddenly hit with the thought of all of my incredibly strong lady friends out there. I know friends who have been in horrible car accidents, stayed strong through cancer, dealt with trauma and death, and were raped. They have gone through the tragedy and come out with scars to prove it.

Then, I began thinking about the wars that are going on right now, the genocide in Darfur, and the rapes that happen so often. This breaks my heart to think that women all over the world are being victimized by this and so much more.

I then thought about the "rape culture" in our own US media. Over sexual and oppressing ads featuring women in compromising positions and pop songs saying "no means yes" all contribute to looking beyond a woman as an individual. You all have seen the articles on Facebook about something on this subject, I am sure.

This painting portrays the eyes of a rape victim. They are sad and painful, broken and strong. I want you, as a viewer, to feel something when you look at this.

"Do You Understand?" Watercolor and ink on stretched Watercolor paper, 18.25x22.25, 2014.