Oil on linen

Signed on the back.

Home is a portrait of Tom's friend Meseret. Their children played together and discussions fell as they often do to family, roots and home. What defines one's sense of it? Originally from Ethiopia, but now living in Australia we can understand that home for Meseret is more than a place. It is the young family growing up in the house they have built here, with study and work and friends. Yet it is also the family in the country of her birth, a world away, with its smells and tastes, its music and culture.

This painting sits Meseret looking out of frame to a light the viewer cannot see. Her gaze is somewhat faraway, perhaps with thoughts of another home, but the smile that plays gently across her lips is filled with the warmth of the here and now.

This oil painting is presented on stretched linen with the edges painted and D-rings fitted on the back for hanging.