“Introspection”

Oil on canvas, 16”x20”

This commission holds a special place in my heart because it marked a turning point in my painting process. While creating it, I discovered a new way of working, ya shift that has shaped every portrait I’ve painted since. I’ll never forget that this painting was the one that pushed me there.

Visually, the monochrome palette draws the eye to form, light, and texture. The interplay of soft and sharp edges in the water creates a rhythm that contrasts with the still, inward-turned figure.

This is a portrait that reads more like a story than a likeness. Even someone unfamiliar with the subject can sense something personal in it. What I love most, beyond its technical breakthrough, is the quiet intimacy it holds: a figure wrapped in stillness, introspective, surrounded by the gentle movement of water.