Sometimes disaster becomes opportunity. Another painting fell and tore a hole in this piece—a heart-stopping moment. But instead of mourning it, I performed “surgery”. I added rich red where the wound was, and now she's stronger than before. The red sits on her left side like a heartbeat, a reminder that repair can be transformation.

I didn't realize until after I finished this piece that I was channeling Willem de Kooning—specifically his "Woman in the Garden" series. But once I saw it, the connection was undeniable. I was drawn to that same raw energy, those aggressive gestures where paint becomes both violent and tender at once. The pinks and corals fight against cool grays, each mark an act of defiance or surrender. Like de Kooning, I wanted the paint to feel alive, almost uncontrollable, as if the canvas itself was breathing. This piece is my dialogue with his legacy—a daughter's response to the master's fury and grace.