Acrylic on canvas

Signed on the front.

This artwork comes with an external frame

I have always found the hands a very beautiful and yet difficult subject to paint. I think it's due to the beauty found in the need for touch and contact.
The brain recognizes the importance of your hands and offers them to others in time of need as a sign of trust. When you see someone upset, you place your hand on their back or shoulder in comfort; when you want to show someone you love them, you hold their hand, offering your hand, one of your most valuable assets, to them; if a person is grieving, you place your hand atop theirs to connect and show them your sympathy.
Your third finger of your hand (the ring finger) is arterially a direct route to your heart (which is why we use this for our wedding bands...a joining of the two routes to the heart). Your brain subconciously acknowledges this and reaches out your hand to another person's hand to make that connection from heart to heart. Offering something we use all the time to another selflessly as a sign of trust and a sign of love.
It is so crucial in a world so disconnected from human touch...all of us too afraid to really reach out in person but longing for that connection with another human being. This painting is a reflection of that longing.
The hand reaching but not fully extending shows the longing but the withdrawl from the fear of rejection. The need for love runs rampant through the world. The background shows how fast the world moves, the blocks resembling the different stages whizzing past you as you solely focus on whether or not to reach out to connect.