Product Description
This painting began without a fixed plan. I did not start with an image or a destination in mind, only with a feeling—an ache for connection and a quiet hope for what the future could hold. I was thinking about how many worlds we live in at once: personal worlds, shared worlds, inner worlds, and the larger world unfolding around us. I wanted to create a space where those worlds could meet without resistance, where they could soften, overlap, and eventually melt into one another.
As I worked, color became my language. I reached for brilliant hues instinctively, letting them guide me rather than trying to control them. Each color felt like a voice—distinct, expressive, and alive. Some emerged boldly, others whispered from beneath the surface. I allowed them to coexist, trusting that harmony would come not from uniformity, but from relationship. The colors began to speak to one another, creating a visual texture that felt both energetic and grounded.
The process was slow and deeply physical. Using mixed media, oil, and cold wax on canvas, I built the surface layer by layer. I applied paint, scraped it back, softened edges, and then added more. At times, I covered areas that felt resolved, only to reveal fragments of them later. This cycle of covering and uncovering mirrored the way we carry our own histories—how experiences shape us, disappear, and resurface in unexpected ways. Nothing was wasted. Every layer became part of the story.
There were moments of uncertainty while creating this work. I questioned whether the painting was becoming too complex, too dense, or too unresolved. But I realized that this tension was essential. A peaceful world is not born from simplicity; it emerges from complexity held with care. I allowed the painting to remain imperfect, trusting that its strength lay in its honesty.
As the composition evolved, I began to sense movement within the canvas. Forms blurred into one another, and boundaries softened. What initially appeared separate slowly became interconnected. This was not about opposing worlds colliding, but about different realities learning how to exist together. The painting taught me something as I worked on it: unity does not require sameness. It requires openness.
The texture of the surface carries emotion as much as the color does. Thick passages sit beside thin, translucent layers. Rough areas contrast with smooth ones. Running my hands over the dried surface, I could feel the history of decisions embedded in the canvas. Each mark recorded a moment—hesitation, confidence, surrender. The painting holds time within it.
This work is part of the Peaceful Worlds series, which grew from a desire to imagine something gentler than what we often see around us. Rather than reacting to conflict directly, the series asks a quieter question: what does peace feel like when it is forming? Not as an end point, but as a process. Not loud or declarative, but subtle, layered, and deeply human.
Throughout the creation of this painting, I thought about people—not specific individuals, but the collective presence of diverse lives moving through shared spaces. Their stories overlap, influence one another, and sometimes blur together. Instead of depicting figures, I let color, rhythm, and texture stand in for human presence. I wanted viewers to feel themselves within the work, not as outsiders looking in, but as participants within the convergence.
There is an emotional calm that emerged unexpectedly as the painting neared completion. Despite its complexity, the surface began to settle. The colors found balance. The movement slowed. This quiet resolution felt earned rather than forced. It reflected my own emotional journey during the process—a shift from restlessness toward acceptance, from striving toward trust.
Working with oil and cold wax requires patience and a willingness to let go. The materials respond differently each day, influenced by temperature, pressure, and time. I learned to listen to the painting rather than impose my will on it. Some of the most meaningful passages emerged when I stepped back and allowed the materials to lead. This collaboration between intention and chance mirrors the way positive change often unfolds in the world—through shared effort, adaptability, and openness.
Ultimately, this painting is a story about possibility. It is about worlds coming together not through force, but through empathy and shared presence. It imagines a future shaped by beauty and peace, where differences are not erased but woven into a richer whole. The painting does not offer answers, but it offers space—a place to pause, breathe, and imagine what might emerge when we allow ourselves to soften and connect.
From the Peaceful Worlds series.
Mixed media, oil, and cold wax on canvas.
Abstract.
