HOLDING MY OWN

This vibrant figurative painting portrays a mother in profile, carrying one child strapped to her back while tending to another infant before her. The composition is rich with cultural specificity — the woman wears a boldly patterned floral head wrap in blues and pinks, a luminous yellow garment, and a vivid magenta skirt, all rendered with expressive, gestural brushwork that conveys both movement and weight. The layered clothing and traditional method of child-carrying speak deeply to themes of resilience, nurturing, and everyday life. This is what happens when the family has been forced out of place. It leaves the mother and children exposed to the wields of the world. however, the mother still holds her own, no matter what the situation reveals.