Portuguese Vegetable Woman 24/99

Artist Proof 24/99 We're not sure if this lady and her white burro are on their way to take vegetables to market, or if they're on their way home again, but either way, she has stopped to reconfigure her cart. Hulings' signature textures are apparent in the vines, the stucco wall, and the street. The dappled sunlight comes through the vegetation and runs highlights through the donkey's mane, the woman's headscarf, and some of her wares in the cart.

There's a sense of urgency in the painting created by the vines that look like they're growing before our eyes; it's a feeling of movement and forward motion that suggests she would do well to get back in the cart and go on her way. As with many of Hulings' works, we have a sense of the dignity and sometimes difficulty of "old world" traditional ways of life, in this case, in Portugal.