The Mask, Part I: Self-Perception

11x14in.

Acrylic on stretched canvas.

2026

Sometimes, the very thing that keeps us alive is also the thing that slowly drains us. To love so deeply that giving becomes instinct, even when exhaustion settles into the soul and the world offers little in return. To endure unseen battles, carry unspoken sorrows, and continue offering warmth to those who may never understand its cost.

Yet, somehow, love persists. It survives the disappointments, the loneliness, and the moments when there seems to be nothing left to give. An endless wellspring that cannot be explained, only felt.

Perhaps there is a quiet tragedy in loving without measure, but there is also something profoundly beautiful in a heart that refuses to grow cold.

No matter how much is taken, no matter how deeply it aches, some things remain.

Drained and drained, yet love remains.