"Naissance De Zehra"

"Naissance De Zehra"

18" x 24"
Oil on canvas
2026

 

My current body of work is a response to Vice President Vance’s remark about the United States being run “by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable with their lives and choices.” He has plenty to say about women without children, and so do I.

 

The “cat lady” stereotype has deep roots in history, reflecting society’s longstanding discomfort with women who don’t have children. Since medieval times, independent women and cats have been linked to witchcraft and deviance.

 

Childless Cat Ladies challenges that narrative. Each portrait celebrates strong, fulfilled individuals content in their independence, careers, relationships, and passions. They are not lonely or broken; they are powerful, self-defined, and unapologetically alive.

 

Let’s all move forward and leave women alone to choose what is right for their own lives. I’m childless by choice, happy with that choice, and, ironically, allergic to cats.

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This painting was inspired by the goddess Venus, specifically “La Naissance de Vénus” by William Bouguereau which I saw at the Musée D’Orsay in Paris and painted at an artists residency in Orquevaux, France.. She rose from the sea foam and floated to shore on a seashell, representing pure beauty and the birth of desire. I decided to turn her into one of my modern day “childless cat ladies”.
 

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Model: Zehra Kayi