This piece wasn’t originally destined to end here. It was mid-process, layered with soft washes of sage, delicate drips, and sweeping abstract gestures, when a lady walked into my studio. She stopped in her tracks and stared. I explained what I had planned to do next, but she insisted I didn’t touch it again. “It reminds me of a safari,” she said, her eyes wide with connection. There was something about the spontaneity of that moment that felt just right.

Although not a traditional commission, this painting became hers through that shared spark. Her vision steered the course of the work, and I loved surrendering to it. Sometimes, a painting speaks to someone before it’s finished and that’s when you know it’s done.