Trust is at the core of who we are as human beings.

Trust is fragile. I heard a neuroscientist explain how we humans “default to honesty” when dealing with other people. We want to trust and believe in others, so we naturally default into believing what others tell us. That is how we get conned and lied to and cheated on. I have met so many people that have been deceived in one way our another. Myself included. And we don’t catch it right away- we wanted to trust.

“Broken Vessel # 8 / Trust” oil and gold leaf, 36 x 24″ 

I kept painting this portrait of my friend realistically. I knew I was going to cut it right down the middle from the very beginning when designing it. Cutting the portrait through the core. But as I kept painting it over and over it never felt like it represented the ethereal and fragile state of trusting another human being. So one day on an impulse I started covering it up with glazes of yellow. An open and honest color. Then I kept adding more. The ghost-like fragile state of this portrait now seems to me to be a better representation of the trust others place in us. And once trust is gone it is so, so very difficult to get back.

I believe Trust is at the core of who we are as humans. And breaking trust creates significant damage.

I have had some say this painting doesn’t match the other ones in the series. Does that really matter? It doesn’t to me. If you notice each painting in this series has represented the positive trait. Then the cracks represent the break and the healing process. So I had to find and paint what meant trust to me.

I believe we can heal our sense of trust. But it is damn hard. I have met too many cautious and broken individuals out there.

Next week, “Hope.”

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