pen and ink/ watercolor; 12×12”

“The girl is standing in front of the bombed out remains of a town – in my mind she is in Ukraine but she could be anywhere in the world. She is a child – an innocent. The yellow balloon could be a sunflower but, for me, it is the Sun. In either case, the child and the balloon are fragile. Together they represent Innocence and Hope. Without the Hope that Peace is possible, that justice is possible we can achieve neither. If we have become too jaded for Hope, perhaps we need a child to lead us.”

ARTIST BIO: Writer, painter, cartoonist, Richard Albin has worked as an artist, theatre artist, and musician. He tries to pass along the places he goes and people he meets in stories, songs and drawings.