Several years ago (about 4, in fact), a good friend commissioned me for the most elaborate and challenging painting I had ever done. My concept required skills I didn't even have yet: multi-figure scenes, painting figures in landscapes, painting trees and reflections in watercolor.

I began my sketches and studies, but my work was disrupted.

I needed a divorce, and the cost was high. Worthwhile, but high. I lost significant friendships, my home, my sense of self, and (temporarily) my art. The divorce was more than the end of a relationship, more than a custody battle. The divorce required me to recognize the validity of my own perceptions and my rights as a human, my rights as a wife, and my rights as a mother. In the end, my rights were upheld in the court of law.

I never fathomed just how precious our legal system is. But that is another rant.

Now, it is four years later, and I have regained much more than what was lost. I have freedom to find and express my spirit more than ever. I have relationships, both romantic and familial, that encourage and support my self-discovery. I have, despite tensions, secured for my son a chance at a relationship with both of his parents. I have done well advancing at my dayjob, and for the first time, I am making plans to get my very own first car. I am now in a relationship

And, finally, I am in a much better position to return to my true work: my art.

After four years and a total of 60+ hours of concept, research, study, and execution, I finally finished the World Tree I set-out to paint for my exceedingly patient and understanding friend, Whitskerz. To him I give my greatest thanks, both for the opportunity and his unfailing support. In this painting, I feel the satisfaction of a great accomplishment, and I feel it lighting the way onward to even more challenging feats. From a word to a word, from a work to a work.

Thank You All and Amen,
Melissa Utaunna 2021