Pearl Cameo is an incredibly special and significant piece for me. It was the first work of art I created in 2021. She is also the first piece I tackled after recovering from COVID-19 myself. While in recovery, my strength was severely drained, and it took me quite some time to feel up to returning to my studio. When I finally did walk back in the studio and began to paint this piece it was not because I wanted to or even felt like painting. At that time, my mother who had also contracted COVID-19 was getting worse. I decided to paint because I couldn’t think of anything else to do and needed a distraction that would take up all the space in my head so that I would not think worrisome thoughts. Undoubtedly, I did and cried while I was painting. As she is a watercolor painting, I am relieved that my tears didn’t ruin her. To sum things up I’m blessed to say that both my mother and I are healthy and fully vaccinated. While Pearl Cameo has no themes about COVID-19 she is in my mind the most COIVD-19 piece there could be.