RESOLVE.

It was my birthday friday.

A weekend where the air was heavy with spring rain. Thunderstorms that have been skirting the edges of the weather forecast for the last few days.

A weekend of grainy slides projected across darkened living rooms, and my nephew blowing out my candles before i had the chance. A weekend of crowded backyards and clusters of bicycles like metal bouquets. A weekend of campfires and the silhouetted backs of houses. A brick fortress with blackened windows.

For as long as I can remember, it’s a day that feels more like new years than january 1st. It’s always coinsided with the start of warmer weather, the end of school (when that was remotely relevent), and I suppose the illusion of a fresh start. If I were the sort of person to make resolutions I might do them now. But I find it kind of silly to make promises to yourself only once a year. I’d like to think that one can be capable of change and/or challenging oneself at any time, and not strictly during the first few weeks of january.

So in the spirit of change and of challenge, the largest pen & ink piece i’ve done to date - a commissioned work, inspired by the series did back in 2008, measuring 2’x3’.

Funny how i’ve now done not one, but two, queen of hearts portraits, as she is probably the one whom i relate to least in a deck of cards.

I’ve always been a fan of the queen of spades myself.