Having You Here in My Life, 2022

Acrylic on canvas

24"W x 30"H

One day I was riding the bus and I noticed a woman on the sidewalk pressing her forehead into a loved one. I couldn’t tell if the loved one was the woman's child, lover or friend, but I saw that they shared a profound and lovely moment. This painting aims to express those figures as I remember them, while also moving them into a more intimate interior space. For this painting I wanted to limit my colour palette to high chroma reds, light pinks and oranges because those warm colours remind me of the warm feeling I had when I was observing the couple. The blue enters the painting as a “window to the warmth”. My hope is that the viewer feels warmth and maybe a blueness in relation to the warmth, but not a blueness that is overpowering. I was leaning into a “corny wholesomeness” for this painting.