Some paintings don’t just get noticed — they get recognized. Mona Leeza is one of those pieces. I once watched a couple return to it again and again, unable to walk away. Art chooses us as much as we choose it. This week, I wrote about that moment — when a painting finally finds its place.

How stepping back reignited me. I took a year off. Not because I wanted to. But because I had to. Actually it was a bit more than a year. A year of re-evaluating, of giving myself the grace to step away. Asking myself what was I giving away, and did I want to continue. You see, there is a lot of pressure (granted much self-imposed) to produce quality art, to sell constantly and nowadays to devote countless hours to social media. I felt I had lost "color," which is my mojo