Throughout the past three years I have felt completely disheartened by the huge political divide in our country between polar opposite factions. The anger and violence that erupted have made me quite scared. It seems that we cannot find truth in anything we hear. We hear news from the source that validates our belief system, without listening to what is being said by other sources. We have come too far from the ideal of being a united country, having a common goal of working together for the good of all of us.

The landscape tells us everything we need to know about how to coexist in a diverse environment. In this painting, “United We Stand,” I tried to show that by standing together we could survive. When isolated, we are exposed to the harsh elements, and are not buffered from them. By standing alone, we deteriorate and decay. By standing together we thrive. This painting depicts the healthy, strong stand of trees in the middle ground, behind the decaying dead tree before them. The golden light of the setting sun casts a hopeful glow to the future, and indicates the predictability of the future is clear.