Hope Braided With More 24x24 Acrylic and oil pastel on canvas

This piece was created while I was still very much in a season of waiting — hiding at times, trying to make the hard parts of life work, and quietly searching for a way forward.

I began by painting over a work from a year ago, covering the surface in a deep blue before layering white, soft pinks, magenta, yellow ochre, and swipes of gold. Earlier layers were intentionally left visible, allowing tension to build between what’s buried and what’s revealed. Blue oil pastel marks move across the surface like restless thoughts — present, but not overpowering.

While making this piece, I was asked how I was doing with my cancer. I remember saying, let’s table that. The truth is, there isn’t a clear answer. An MRI can come back clean, and still the question remains. Healing, I’m learning, often means learning how to live inside uncertainty rather than waiting for it to resolve.

This painting holds that duality — hope rising toward the surface, fear still woven beneath it. Not as opposites, but as companions. It isn’t about resolution. It’s about staying, breathing, and continuing to make meaning in the middle of not knowing.