Oil on canvas, 16”x20”

This is a portrait of my husband during one of the hardest chapters of our relationship. It came after a painful turning point in our marriage, a time when everything we knew about each other, and ourselves, was being questioned. But this painting isn’t about the moment of hurt; it’s about what came after.

It’s about the work.

The long, uncomfortable, and deeply human process of listening, taking responsibility, and choosing to change. Through therapy and honest conversations, we both began to rebuild. He took accountability in ways I didn’t expect, and I began looking inward too, realizing how much I had disconnected, pouring everything into my art while unintentionally neglecting our partnership.

This painting holds all of that. The weight. The reflection. The strength it takes to stay. We both caused pain, and we both stood beside each other in it. A relationship cracked open and slowly, intentionally mended.

We didn’t go back to what we were, we became something new.