This painting is a meditation of isolation and pain. I painted Isolation in New York City. I had made a small pencil sketch of the back of a monk, covered by his robe, head bowed in meditation and prayer. This was her beginning. But as I painted, the monk evolved into a woman who sits on the edge of darkness, cloaked in her pain. Her solace as she surrenders to the night is a connection to the intense yet painful beauty that resides deeply within her soul.