The Potato Eaters

Look, I know it's dark. Everyone tells me it's too dark. But have you actually spent time with farmers? This is what dinner looks like after 14 hours in the fields. One lamp, five people, potatoes. That's it. I spent weeks sketching these people. They didn't want me there at first – some artist from the city coming to stare at them eating dinner. But we got used to each other. The painting isn't pretty because their life isn't pretty. It's honest, though. And honestly? I'm kind of proud of how uncomfortable it makes gallery people. The hands bother viewers the most. "Why are they so rough?" Because that's what hands look like when you dig potatoes for forty years, Karen. Not everyone moisturizes.