Begun as an automatic drawing, Hawthorn portrays the unfurling of a seed into vibrant bloom. Set within a vessel of light, I imagine it as a figurative painting with ties to the human spirit. The Hawthorn shrub, long associated with heart medicine—as well as protection, hope, and love—serves as the painting’s central symbol of healing. The canoe-like form holding rolling waves feels like a safe passage in a painting of restoration that glows.