Serenity portrays a small, drowsy angel resting peacefully amid a ring of once-beautiful flowers. Her body glows with colour, soft, warm, and alive, while the flowers surrounding her have faded, their petals dried and fragile. The piece combines acrylic paint with real pressed flowers, allowing life and decay to coexist physically within the artwork. This contrast between the vibrant angel and the wilted blooms evokes themes of innocence, impermanence, and the quiet resilience of the spirit. The angel appears untouched by the decay around her, as if she carries her own source of light. She sleeps not in fear, but in acceptance. Holding a serenity that transcends the life cycles unfolding beneath her. The dead flowers act as reminders of beauty that has passed, of things once full that have completed their arc. Yet the angel’s presence softens that loss, suggesting that even in endings there is gentleness, memory, and meaning. The piece becomes a meditation on how we exist within the ebb and flow of life: surrounded by things that fade, yet still capable of holding colour, softness, and peace. Serenity reflects the delicate balance between life and decay, rest and renewal, showing that tranquility is not found by avoiding the fragile parts of existence, but by resting calmly within them.
serenity (2025)
Original done in acrylic on canvas and flowers
