Veiled Light was born from a place I rarely let myself linger, the parts of me that went silent to stay safe. Everything about this piece is black, not out of darkness or despair, but out of reverence. A reverence for what we hide in order to keep going. The orchids, the shells, the stones, they’re all cloaked, protected, preserved. I didn’t realize until after finishing it how much I had painted my own survival.

There was a time I believed healing had to be bright. But what I’ve learned is that healing often begins in the quiet, in the places no one sees. This piece holds that truth. Embedded with smoky quartz, black tourmaline, obsidian, and Herkimer diamonds, it’s layered in intention; for protection, for grounding, for clarity when everything feels murky. The silver isn’t loud. It’s barely there. But it is there. And that matters. It speaks to the part of us that still hopes even when we’re buried deep.

I purposely made it all black to be all encompassing, but keeping a small source of light in the corner to represent that part of us that’s always there. It never leaves. We just suppress it. The texture around the canvas, emanating from that corner, is symbolic of both ripples in water with the silver reflecting off of it. And subtle sun rays.

Veiled Light is a beginning. Not a loud one, but a steady one. The moment you feel the ache before the tears. The breath you hold before you speak your truth. It’s the first piece in The Becoming series, because becoming isn’t instant, it’s often invisible. This painting is for anyone who has hidden to survive. It’s a sacred space for that hiding. And it’s a gentle reminder: your light has never left you.

Acrylic on Canvas

30”x40”

Clear Quartz & Smoky Quartz, Herkimer Diamonds, Black Cymbidium and Phalaenopsis Orchids, Black Tourmaline, Obsidian, Seashells, Black Sand