Why do I love art? Simply put, creating art makes me feel happy and brings me a sense of inner peace. My current focus has been drawing human figures and portraits with emphasis on proportion, light, and shadow. Creating art has become my therapy and is a healthy outlet that brings me happiness and comfort. The art I render embodies a message that can be heard without speaking. The process of making art inspires me as I gradually work through mental problems with each mark made. In today's society, there are many beauty standards imposed on us, some of which are unrealistic. Women, including myself, feel pressure to rise up to these standards, seeking to present our bodies in an aesthetically pleasing manner. This is a pretty sensitive topic for me since I’ve never actually verbalized how I feel about it to other people. That considered, I decided to draw a headless statue of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, with significance placed on the idealized figure known as the goddess of beauty and sexuality. Analyzing her anatomy, one can see that she is voluptuous, which in today's society is often referred to as ‘stomach rolls,’ not meeting the standard of looking trim. I wanted to bring awareness to the viewer that one's body, no matter how presented, is beautiful in every shape and size. We are all built uniquely.  There is no such thing as an ‘ugly’ figure, only different personifications of beauty. For this artwork, I applied graphite pencil directly onto the wooden canvas to highlight the natural flaws of the wood, capturing transparency through the lighter values. This was a new approach to figures that I had not explored, deepening my love of art through exploration, while seeking to communicate a rich message of everlasting beauty.