Inside Out (2025)

Inside Out was created during the darkest evenings of 2025, in the quiet stretch between early winter sunsets and the return of light. I spent many nights alone at home, discovering an unexpected stillness within solitude rather than loneliness. The painting became a meditation on inward transformation, inspired by the lyric “consume me from the inside out,” a prayer for faith to reshape the interior life before anything outwardly changes.

The atmosphere of the work was shaped in part by the hymn Be Thou My Vision, a song I once performed in my high school band. Even within the ordinary setting of a public Texas school, hearing the layered swell of instruments carry the hymn’s melody would often left an impression on me that had to be expressed years later. Thus, I painted this piece with the same feeling with subdued light and contemplative atmosphere.

Built through layers of deep scumbling, muted violets, and undertones of blue and burnt umber, the painting reflects the emotional quietness of winter and the slow reemergence of hope. Midway through the process, I completely repainted the sky after the original composition began to feel lifeless. Reworking the surface became an act of trust, allowing light to emerge gradually from within the darkness.