"Beyond the Veil" Painting

My work explores the tension between visibility and withdrawal through figurative painting. Using layered media, I build portraits that sit between observation and self-portraiture, focusing on subtle shifts in posture, presence, and internal state. I depict figures in unguarded, ordinary moments where ease is quietly unsettled by distance or restraint. Rather than fixed narratives, each painting develops through an open process, where colour, gesture, and distortion carry emotional charge without settling into resolution. Working primarily in acrylic, ink, and fluid mark-making, I move between figuration and abstraction. The face and body remain central—particularly in relation to female representation—but are treated with informality and ambiguity. Figures often appear present yet slightly out of reach, reflecting the experience of occupying social space while remaining partially detached. Across the work, I’m interested in vulnerability, perception, and the unstable boundary between inner experience and outward appearance.