“We are made of light and shadow only when we embrace both do, we truly see ourselves.”
The Story
Abundance began as a quiet conversation with myself a dialogue I did not know I needed to have. The moment I stumbled upon the image that inspired this piece, something stirred deep inside. It was not the face I saw, but what it reflected at me: emotions too big to name betrayal, loneliness, the weight of memories we often lock away.
When I picked up the charcoal, the story began to flow. I chose to show only half of her face. Why? Because that’s how life often feels. We show the part we think the world can handle. The other half the deeper side, the unspeakable abundance of emotion we keep tucked away in shadows. Not because we want to hide, but because we do not know if the world will understand.
As I shaded the canvas with soft graphite and deep charcoal powder, the duality became clear. The light hope, resilience, vulnerability. The shadow unspoken grief, untold stories, quiet strength. Together they created not contrast, but balance.
This is what Abundance means here: not wealth of things, but a heart overflowing with feelings joy, pain, longing, and strength all existing at once. To carry so much and still stand, still breathe, still look the world in the eye that is the true abundance this piece seeks to honor.
Why Abundance?
Because sometimes life gives us more than we feel we can hold more joy, more pain, more longing, more understanding. This piece invites you to feel all of it. To know that it’s okay to carry an abundance of feelings. It means you are alive; you are aware, you are human.
Viewing Abundance
Stand before this piece. Notice what draws your eye the light or the shadow. Ask yourself: What am I carrying today? What have I been keeping hidden? This artwork is a mirror for your inner world an invitation to pause, to feel, and perhaps to soften toward yourself.
Artist Note
“This piece was my way of processing an inner conversation about what we show to the world, and what we quietly carry.
Sometimes abundance means too much emotion, too much memory, too much life and yet, we move through it with strength.
This drawing holds a piece of that strength. I hope it speaks to yours.”