Oil pastel portrait - wip shots
Work in progress shots of a portrait I created with oil pastels
Somebody goes ahead and dies and all of a sudden you become a box for them, he thought, you store these things that no one has ever seen and you go on living like that, your head a coffin to keep memories of the dead alive.
Ocean Vuong, The Emperor of Gladness
Last week I learned of the death of my best friend from high school, so naturally, I’ve been thinking of her, and having mini flashbacks of the crazy things we did back in the day.
I just read the book The Emperor of Gladness recently, and the passage above stuck with me, and sums up the past few days for me. My head has become a coffin to keep my memories of her alive.
Her death has nothing to do with this portrait. It’s something I created many months ago, and has no connection to what’s going on this week.
I hope you enjoy looking at the work in progress shots, while I tend to filling the coffin in my head with more memories.
Reading:
Things My People Say to Me by Orly Avineri
I felt this one to my core. 💕 I recommend reading it, and then listening to Orly read it, and then, if it moves you, as it did me, read it again.
My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, Etsy, and eBay.
You can also find me on pinksky & blsky.
I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.
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May you be well and happy.