The Art Of Staying
Pen, oil pastel, acrylic paint, and original collage on paper, 38 x 55 cm (image) 42 × 59.4 cm (paper), 2024
This piece reflects the love, responsibility, and presence that define caregiving. It portrays a moment around the kitchen table — a place where family and friends naturally gather. For nearly two decades, our home has been the centre of such gatherings, shaped by the rhythms of our son's routines and needs.
Elements of nature hint at the world just beyond our windows. A suitcase beside the table, decorated with a whimsical scene of home and city, reflects the complex emotional landscape of caregiving: the safety of home, the dream of elsewhere, and the acceptance of staying put as the world moves on outside.
The work is a tribute to my partner, who has shared this journey with me with such grace and devotion, and to the many people I've met along the way navigating similar challenges. It also recognises family and friends who walk alongside us, supporting and adapting to life as we live it.
Caregiving brings many demands, but we stay because of love, because this is where our hearts are, even when it's hard. It isn't passive; caregiving requires intention, organisation, creativity, resourcefulness, and adaptability — an art in itself.
Over the years, I have often felt distant horizons calling, but my art offers a happy medium and its own kind of escape: a place where I can be both present and free. In those moments of creating, I have space to reflect, imagine, and reconcile responsibility with desire.
Ultimately, I think it's about that balance — the art of staying, holding on to yourself, and finding joy in the everyday.
© Sam Jackson 2026. All rights reserved.
