Charcoal and Oil Pastel on Paper
36″ x  44″
2018

The shame that comes from feeling pressured to look at the world with blind optimism can make the journey out of darkness all the more agonizing. Societal expectations to be or appear rosy sometimes adds to the anxiety that well-meaning optimists often intend to alleviate. Using large scale, contrasting colors, and multimedia mark-making, this drawing takes an intimate look at the mental state born of the interplay between how one is expected to feel and how that expectation actually makes one feel.