Blue and Red Ink on Paper

This portrait employs novel compositional techniques to more honestly and intensely depict the stresses of modern life - specifically, the overwhelming and alienating effects of today's culture of endless striving and careerism. The woman does not pose for her portrait - she is too busy. Her surroundings have fallen into disarray. The mass of objects that separate her from us seem like a mote made to protect her concentration. We are spectators, nothing more than distractions to prevent.

Unlike in traditional portraiture, our subject has burrowed herself into a corner and out of the light - our only means of accessing and understanding her is through the very barrier she put up to keep us away. The open chair in the upper right, from which a soft light shines, offers some hope that there is still a place for us in her world and that all of us, no matter how far removed, can still be reached.