Oil on linen, 2024
60 x 84 inch | 152 x 213 cm

She steps forward, her boots sinking into the icy water. Each stride feels deliberate, a defiant act against the tides that seem eager to pull her back. But she doesn’t stop. The water rises around her legs, but it can’t touch her spirit—it can’t reach the fire within her.

Her coat, patterned with bold lines of pink and cream, seems like armor—a quilted testament to her journey, pieced together with threads of resilience and fragments of dreams. Her red skirt catches the light, its intricate texture resembling a net—a reminder of how life can entangle yet hold us steady.

In her hands, she carries two symbols. The green boxing gloves gleam with raw energy, the ultimate declaration of her fight, her refusal to yield. And then there’s the yellow bucket, unassuming yet heavy with meaning. It is a vessel of responsibility, of the burdens she carries but refuses to let define her.

Behind her, a rainbow stretches across the stormy sky. It isn’t soft or delicate—it’s bold, like her. A promise not of perfection but of hope, a reminder that even after the fiercest storms, color finds its way back into the world.

Her face tells the rest of the story. Painted and proud, it is unapologetically her own. A warrior’s gaze softened not by weakness but by depth. It’s the face of someone who has walked through fire, crossed rivers of doubt, and emerged still whole, still standing.

This is not a portrait of a woman who has been defeated. This is a portrait of a woman who chooses to rise daily. To walk through the water—not to escape it, but to confront it, to feel its chill and let it remind her that she is alive and unshakable.

Her journey is one we all know in some way. It’s about moving forward when staying still feels easier. It’s about hope breaking through, even when it seems impossible. It’s about the power of resilience, the beauty of persistence, and the unstoppable force of a soul that refuses to surrender.

Inspiration/ Creative Prompts:

Song: POP POP POP by Idles
Pantone Color: Peach Fuzz + Chartreuse