Cassandra Barney

She Owned Her Own Heart
I was thinking that we all want to be loved, cherished, and taken care of, but really, we own our own hearts. We can only independently fulfill these needs. The figure's dress is fire, wrapped around her burning heart. She burns inside.

Try Not to Look Back
This painting is about life and learning. How it's a circular process and going back is on a linear track which is not progression so this figure is in motion, not stagnant and stuck. Going back isn't progression.

The original title of this piece was Waiting For Enlightenment. I was looking at William Blake's work and reading his poetry, searching for greater understanding about my life, and it dawned on me that the search, the waiting, the awareness that I wanted to know and understand was important. The figure is all dressed up and ready, sitting between two simple, budding, fragile trees. She is learning to be quiet and patient and wait for that understanding.