Sophia the Donkey

16x18 by Jeffrey Lewis

I painted this one when I was living in California when it felt like the whole state was on fire. Truth be told, I was sort of on fire at the time as well - inside. Though I was serving a church with wonderful people I loved seeing and being with, I had carried wounds with me all the way across the continent, from St. George's School in Rhode Island. On the outside I tried to project a patina of strength and confidence, but on the inside I was tormented from carrying a heavy load that was not mine. Surfing was one of the things that healed me - that, and the love from new and old friends both in and out of the water. A friend in California bought this painting from me before I came back to Maine, but she almost didn't. It was too dark and intense. In some ways that time was indeed too dark and intense, but now I see it as kind of beautiful.