The Foreigner

Acrylic on canvas.

40x30"

The Foreigner

I painted The Foreigner upside down because sometimes that is exactly what it feels like to be the person who doesn't quite belong.

Everyone else seems to understand the rules. They know the language, the customs, where to stand, what to say, and how they are expected to behave. The foreigner enters that world from a completely different direction. What is ordinary to everyone else can feel strange, confusing, even absurd.

The bright colors and patterns surrounding him suggest a world that is alive and inviting, but he remains separate from it. His eyes look directly at us, almost asking, Am I looking at your world upside down—or are you looking at mine that way?

For me, the word foreigner