Mountain Lady

Mountain Lady might suggest a woman who lives in the mountains. But I meant something more: a woman who embodies a mountain itself.

We give mountains our words for greatness — stability, permanence, presence. Women hold those qualities too. They move through so many roles — mother, lover, wife, mother again — and their presence stays constant, like the peak we check for on the horizon each morning and feel reassured to find. The mountain means safety.

In the painting she gazes upward, at something beyond our view, and we have to follow that gaze — to climb higher, past our own limits.

There's a sleeping mountain in her too, one that can wake at any moment. How many women are like that: showing sudden strength where no one expected it, overcoming mountains of adversity.

A monotype on Fabriano paper, the background painted in vibrant orange acrylic. Signed.

Jolanta