Girl with a Strawberry:

When painting Girl with a Strawberry I did not have a particular story in mind. However, Girl with a Strawberry does embody the secrecy and mystery of childhood. Interestingly enough, whenever I exhibit this painting I am always delighted to listen to the many stories this painting evokes in viewers.

I would like to share three with you:

Once a little girl approached me and said in a very serious voice:

“She is looking at adulthood.”

It was then when it hit me. Aren’t I supposed to be the one looking at childhood? All of a sudden, my very own creation is looking back at me!

At another occasion, somebody said, “The girl is looking at her mother’s paintings, and she thinks they take up too much space. She is telling her mom, ‘Come into my own space!’”

The last one I would like to share with you is of a more rational kind; nonetheless I love it, too. 

“She wasn’t supposed to eat the strawberry, but she did it anyway, and now she feels guilty. That’s why her arms are like this…”

I wonder what stories you may come up with …