I love this piece, both for the title in accordance with your inspiration and the emotive rendition. Your pieces have a dream-like quality with the surreal morphing of characters and disappearing lines. This piece is perhaps the least surreal, but you still have motion with the wavy construction of the background and the high-contrast but soft lighting.

There is hope in the light that illuminates her soft but sturdy features. Everything from the patchwork and dirt on her clothes to the soft wrinkles in her skin and the glimmer in her left eye, reveals a practiced and patient woman. She is a woman that has worked hard and faltered but never failed for lack of trying. The depth of the creases in her hands and face contrast the highlights of each feature. Where there is darkness, there is also light. I feel the hope emanating from her. She is resolute. You can see that she is tired and worn, but there is light and intent in her eye.

Are you inspired by specific subjects? Do you draw from life? If not, is this image a conjuring of someone you know or several figures you’re familiar with? I feel, vicariously through this work, that you may have a profound sense of respect for this woman.