2025 · Oil on Canvas · London, Ontario, Canada
He has always been my muse.
The first time I saw him was in 2000.
Before that, we had only talked through emails for a month —
words on a screen, light, casual, almost playful.
But when I finally met him in person,
my first thought was:
He looks so serious.
Almost stern.
Hard to read.
Nothing like the person I thought I knew.
For a moment, the two versions of him
wouldn’t connect in my mind.
But the longer I stayed,
the more I noticed something else behind that gaze.
Not coldness.
Not distance.
Just quiet.
And underneath it —
a warmth so steady and gentle
that it slowly disarmed me.
What captured me wasn’t only those deep, watchful eyes,
but the heart behind them.
This painting is not really about his face.
It’s about that warmth
I learned to see
after looking a little longer.