I am delighted that a painting of mine that has evolved with time, and as it was refurbished, has now been claimed. I have a new home for The Burden! A friend told me she found it in the yard, and rescued it, because it meant a lot to her.

So The Burden has gone home with her, and I am thrilled to know that this painting will be enjoyed out of the weather.

The original version of this painting was started in 2014, and was stored out of sight sometime in 2015. Eventually I worked on it further, and displayed it in my studio yard for far too long. Out in the weather, the mounting failed and the boards separated and warped.

I restored it earlier this year (2026). First I pealing the surface layer off with some tearing, then remounted the torn painting to another board. This process created more texture; not damage but texture! At least I decided to see it this way…

I filled in missing parts, touched up the paint, and added more detail with some dimensional embellishments. So it has changed quite a bit since the early drafts and the interim versions! Below is a progression: three drafts and the final version of The Burden:

Note: the colors vary a lot in the above photos. This is mostly due to the lighting and different cameras, rather than actual changes to the paint.