A couple months ago, Hawk and I commissioned a very talented friend of ours, Katrina Bea, to create a piece for the space above our bed. Her work is stunning - raw and emotional, delicate, yet strong and evocative. The only suggestions or requests we gave her were that we would like an animal and maybe a tree.
This week, she delivered our painting, which she titled ‘Release’:
(click to enlarge)
We were both absolutely speechless. It is so perfect, so exactly what we had in mind. It is so powerful, so provocative, and it became even more so once she started telling us about it.
The woman in the painting is in a state of release, with her head and her abdomen unattached from the rest of her. Katrina is a dear friend of ours and knows what I’ve been going through in terms of my fertility and anxiety, and this was her way of depicting my desire to ‘let go’ of both my emotional and physical troubles.
The hawk (obviously symbolizing Hawk) above her is cradling her in his wings, protecting her.
There are flower blossoms all over her, because she herself, as Katrina put it, is “blossoming”.
The snake is a powerful symbol of male fertility and is wound around her.
I knew that whatever Katrina made us would be beautiful, but I had no idea it would be so meaningful, so poignant. This painting embodies so perfectly the journey that Hawk and I are on together, I can hardly wrap my mind around it. We are so lucky to have such a talented and dear friend. We will both treasure this painting for the rest of our lives.
