Courage and Strength is the first of three interconnected works exploring a personal journey through adversity, gratitude and transformation.
At its heart is the phoenix — an ancient symbol of renewal, rising not untouched by fire, but transformed by it. Alongside it, the gladiolus brings its own language of strength, integrity and perseverance. Together they speak to a form of courage that is less about fearlessness than the willingness to continue when the path ahead is uncertain.
The painting draws upon my own experience of navigating profound changes and challenges across a lifetime: forging an unconventional path through medicine and motherhood, rebuilding after the end of a difficult marriage, facing cancer twice, creating new ventures and, ultimately, stepping into a new creative chapter later in life.
Yet Courage and Strength is not intended simply as autobiography. Our hardships differ, but the need to find the strength to move through them is universal.
I have come to understand strength not as remaining unchanged by adversity, but as allowing experience to shape us without allowing it to define or diminish us. Courage is often quieter still: the decision to take another step, make another beginning, or imagine a different future.
Within BLOOM — Human Virtues in Flower, Courage and Strength begins a three-part journey. It is followed by Gratitude, reflecting the capacity to recognise what remains and what has been gained even through difficulty, and ultimately by Transformation — becoming not who we were before, but someone newly formed by everything that came before.
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Varnish: 2 Varnish System, Satin
Size: 30x40 inches (762x1016mm) 1.5 inch (38mm) Edge
Frame: Oak Floating Frame
