I’ve taken a lot of pictures of Maria, but this portrait is special. It shows her character.

I used to call her the Willa Cather girl; now I call her the Willa Cather woman. She has lost some of the girlish look as she has grown in strength and purpose and confidence.

It’s not a political statement; it just reflects how she has changed over our time together and how we both have changed in our time together.

She thought she was weak, but I always saw her strength from the first time we met in a barn in Hebron, N.Y., about 15 years ago.

My love and respect for her have grown every single year. Because of her, I learned what it means to love and be loved. Without her, I would not have known.

I call her the “Willa Cather woman” because Cather wrote about women of great strength.

I believe this portrait shows that strength. I’ve had the good fortune to witness Maria’s evolution as a woman of great strength.