Asya (dealing with grief), 4x6in, watercolor paper, acrylic gouache.

This piece came out of a study for an upcoming assignment “close-up”, where I needed to paint a subject close up and take a step back from looking at the full portrait. I paid close attention to the details and blending, and am surprised this took me longer than other 4x6in works.

I named this piece Asya because I’m dealing with the grief of everything going on in the world. When I look at this piece, I think about how we ready ourselves and go out into the world regardless. I think about resiliency and self care.