Haiti's Cry is now released!

After the earthquake, I was so distraught over the images that I saw that day that I prayed what I could do to help? When major tragedies happen, sometimes I feel so helpless to be able to make a difference. Even if I could help just one person, I wanted to do something! I didn't feel like sending in just a check for a donation. I wanted to do something more. I believe God inspired me to paint this work. It was painted very rapidly and precise-and I am not a precise person-I search and fuss over my paintings most of the time. I was moved by all the devastation and destruction. I cannot even explain how I felt, but after the first night following the earthquake, I went down to my studio the very next day and started to paint. My heart ached and I wept as I painted that morning. I started the painting with a black gessoed coating over a white canvas. (Something that I had never done before.) I started making a cross, simply because I thought I would start with a cruciform design, like my Crosses of Hope series, but as I poured the white in various places and started to paint the image of a cross with my hands, a figure appeared that looked like it was crying.

As soon as I saw this figured, I knew I had a painting titled, “Haiti’s Cry”.

I left the white alone and stepped back to look. It was a large white shaped figure crying out symbolizing all the people of Haiti. I stopped painting and decided to wait a few days to see what I should do next, so I worked on various other paintings and glanced over once in awhile during the week. The lower left shape is the earth’s energy that created the earthquake and the rope shape that wraps around the figure represents the earthquake trying to squeeze the life out of the people and their country. I added bright and bold colors painted and splashed randomly which symbolizes all of the hope that is, and will be, for the people of Haiti and their future. There are three hearts in the piece, one for the men, one for the women, and one for all the children who died from the quake.