Anger and Happiness 41x32

This project started in 2024 and it was the first assignment I was given. I was always interested in abstract art and I thought it would be an engaging and fascinating experience to learn about it. I soon came to understand that this was no easy task. I came up with the base of the painting as a yin yang expressing the two elements affecting each other keeping balance in this world. I kept painting and repainting over all the attempts and eventually decided that I was not ready or the piece. In 2025, I decided to return to work on this piece properly. This time my ideas flowed much more freely, and I began combining them to see what worked well. I was greatly inspired in the way that Jean-Michel Basquiat draws the eyes in his portraits. They looked full of anger and I loved it. I wanted to express how anger is a visceral mash up of other emotions and so there is a lot of chaotic information coming through the anger. On the other hand, happiness is calm but could disappear in any moment. I decided to use traditional Japanese style clouds which traditionally represent connection or fluidity.

In the end, it took me 6 months to create this piece from scratch. It was certainly challenging but I learned so much from the process and was finally satisfied with the piece.

I learned that, as an artist, I am not ready to paint some things but by waiting and returning to a piece I can can renewed perspective and confidence in the process.