Same Storm
Archival Canvas Reproduction on 2" Gallery Style stretcher bars
36"x36"
 
Same Storm is an abstract meditation on the shared human condition. The umbrellas within the composition represent continents, nations, and communities—each distinct in color and form, yet united in purpose: to shield us from the storm. The storm itself is constant, a metaphor for the cycles of struggle, change, and conflict that touch us all. When we harm one another, divide, or hoard, we forget that what washes over one inevitably touches us all.
 
Same Storm marked my entrance into the professional art world. Painted with a palette knife on wood panel, it was the first work where I pushed beyond the surface, beginning to see framing as part of the artwork itself. For this piece, I designed and built a custom frame of Brazilian rosewood and aluminum, incorporating stained glass by Alan Hargrave. Prisms set into the glass bend light into refracted rainbows, sealing the work with a quiet insistence that beauty can emerge even through fragility.
 
The painting first appeared in my Off the Wall exhibition in Biltmore Village, occupying the center of the gallery, where visitors were drawn to its light. Through creating it, I discovered my first studio at Foundation Studios. When Hurricane Helene struck, I feared the painting was lost forever. Days later, I found it battered but intact. Scuffed and bruised, yet still refracting rainbows, its survival deepened the work’s meaning, echoing the very truth at the heart of its design.
 
This piece invites reflection on the invisible borders we construct and the responsibilities that transcend them. Our most basic needs are the same, and our survival depends on remembering that we are all caught under the same storm. The question remains: do we stand apart, or do we face it together?