Tears fall down the sides of my face while I stare at the ceiling, Snoh Aalegra's "temporary highs in violet skies" blasting from a speaker too close to my ears. The paintings start appearing to me like I'm in an overwhelming trance.

The life I thought I wanted has rejected me. I have nowhere to go in my body. I know I'm being called to a new life, but I have no idea where to begin.

"I'm so indecisive, but you make me like this" (lyric from Snoh Aalegra, "indecisive" from Temporary Highs in Violet Skies album)

I am indecisive because I don't need to decide. I am already chosen. Lying there, tears obscuring physical sight, I see the life that picks me. The artist's life chooses me. This collection marks the start of me finding the courage to be an artist.

Click on individual paintings for full view

"Flow" confronts the hardest truth: when thinking about the things that didn't work out, sometimes you realize you are what's wrong. It's hard, but it's important to try again.

"Sad u broke my heart" captures a phantom heartbreak—the way running away from myself breaks my own heart in a world of my imagination.

"Still sad u broke my heart" explores the aftermath, seeking comfort in temporary things. I took a photo of my hand holding the blunt, and weeks later, I realise I was having a temporary high under a violet sky. The happiness was just another fleeting moment.

"California" looks forward, toward the possibility of joy and the places we imagine ourselves whole.