Adapted to Fear

Oil Paint on Wood

24.5”x15.5”

2026

I’ve gone so far inward that something in me began to change—scales forming, a quiet metamorphosis taking hold. Fear became a place I could live.

Through the trees, a cardinal appears. A flash of red against everything else. A reminder that life still exists beyond this state.

I move through each day exhausted but driven—searching, pulling what beauty I can from existence, even if it’s only a glimmer. A moment of color.

A reminder that even within the cruelty of reality, there is still softness.