The Story Behind "Into the Depths"

In the depths, I found the parts of me that still believe in wonder.

Some paintings arrive politely. "Into the Depths" did not — it pulled me under.

I painted it during a season when I was doing the quiet, unglamorous work of going inward: beneath the responsibilities, the grief, the identities we gather like coats. And what I found down there surprised me. Not darkness — play. A part of me that still believed in wonder, still wanted to notice small miracles, still knew how to be delighted.

That's the woman in the painting, drifting in turquoise water. She's not drowning; she's returning. Around her swim golden fish — little flashes of joy — and pink ribbons that move the way thoughts do when you finally stop gripping them. The small flower-crowned companions are the childlike parts of ourselves: curiosity, imagination, the capacity for delight. They never left us. They were just waiting for room to breathe.

Why water?

Water has always been my teacher. It holds without holding on. In this piece, her violet dress moves with the current instead of fighting it — that's the whole philosophy, really. Surrender as strength. Trust as a practice.

The colors

Turquoise for the depth that isn't frightening. Deep violet for the mystery. Soft pink for tenderness toward the self. And gold — always gold — for the sacred ordinary: sunlight on water, the glint of something precious in an everyday moment.

Where she belongs

I painted her for the rediscoverers: anyone nurturing their inner child, learning to welcome joy again, or making space for beauty in a busy life. She belongs in a bedroom, a creative studio, a reading corner — anywhere you go to remember who you are beneath it all.

"Into the Depths" is available as a museum-quality giclée art print in six sizes, from an intimate 8" x 12" to a sweeping 32" x 48". Each print is made to order and shipped worldwide.