A mockup of “Mother Within”, a painting by contemporary artist Layla Messner, displayed above a living room couch. The abstract expressionist painting of two women's silhouettes - a gold pregnant mother's silhouette, a maiden's silhouette in red with a present moon, and black textured paint. Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 20 inches.

A mockup of “Mother Within”, a painting by contemporary artist Layla Messner, displayed by a child’s bed. The abstract expressionist painting of two women's silhouettes - a gold pregnant mother's silhouette, a maiden's silhouette in red with a present moon, and black textured paint. Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 20 inches.

A mockup of “Mother Within”, a painting by contemporary artist Layla Messner, displayed beside a couch. The abstract expressionist painting of two women's silhouettes - a gold pregnant mother's silhouette, a maiden's silhouette in red with a present moon, and black textured paint. Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 20 inches.

A mockup of “Mother Within”, a painting by contemporary artist Layla Messner, displayed above a dresser. The abstract expressionist painting of two women's silhouettes - a gold pregnant mother's silhouette, a maiden's silhouette in red with a present moon, and black textured paint. Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 20 inches.

A mockup of “Mother Within”, a painting by contemporary artist Layla Messner, displayed above a bed. The abstract expressionist painting of two women's silhouettes - a gold pregnant mother's silhouette, a maiden's silhouette in red with a present moon, and black textured paint. Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 20 inches.

A mockup of “Mother Within”, a painting by contemporary artist Layla Messner, displayed above a dining room table. The abstract expressionist painting of two women's silhouettes - a gold pregnant mother's silhouette, a maiden's silhouette in red with a present moon, and black textured paint. Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 20 inches.

An abstact expresionist painting of two women's silhouettes - a gold pregnant mother's silhouette, a maiden's silhouette in red with a present moon, and black textured paint. Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 20 inches.

Mother Within

$1,080.00

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My dog soulmate, Oscar, passed away during Covid-19. Prior to my current relationship, he was my only companion for 10 years. We were together for a decade – my longest relationship. Just before the Pandemic hit, he was diagnosed with cancer. I did a desperate round of crowdfunding and, with the help of my friends, was able to get him emergency surgery, which bought him an extra year of life. Since I work from home and was otherwise alone all day, having his companionship definitely made the pandemic much easier to bear. He passed away in January of 2021. While he was dying, I realized that, as I have no human children, my relationship with him was how I expressed my intrinsic motherhood. I created this painting to celebrate the different ways in which we parent—whether we give birth, mother human children, have furbabies, or mother ourselves, our spouses, and our friends (or all of the above!). “Mother Within” is a celebration of motherhood in all its forms.

This painting is not for sale, but contact me if you'd like me to create a similar piece for you.