To See as They Do

I gathered every painting that I've made in 2025 and framed them. Although.. a little begrudgingly - the metal tabs on frames kill my fingers, eventually I resorted to using some cotton tape to temporarily secure the frames. Good enough.

Giving them the dignity to stand tall on their own is a strange, but enjoyable ritual. I was pleased to have enough black fabric and makeshift photo props disguised as all-season decor laying around my home. Even fresh roses. Lucky me.

Seeing my paintings framed, captured, and catalogued felt less like admin work and more like facing myself in the mirror.

Confidence does not come easily to me when it comes to art, and it never has. I make what feels genuine to my own emotion rather than considering if anyone else would want to hold it.

Setting a price sometimes feels like assigning a value to a wound. I wish I could see my work through another person's eyes. More often than not, I just see the reasons that lead me to my palette to begin with. And I'm not done with the year. A feral rage knocks.

Maybe that's the magic of it all: art doesn't demand certainty, only honesty. And honesty is demanded, let this collection be a marker that I was present through the thick of myself.

I survive.

Yours, Melissa