"I think of the garden as a sanctuary, a safe place," says Cassandra Christensen Barney. "The women in this painting finds herself in a world of their own creation, having discovered the bliss of her own space." The feminine charms of Cassandra's exquisitely stylized portraiture suggest the "muses" of our daily lives. Perhaps they suggest someone we know, or someone we are or want to be. And the artist loves this narrative aspect of portraits. Once staple of creating any story, the setting, is chosen, the characters take over. The woman In Her Garden has her cherished bird perched on her back - her little love, always there."