AI, Digital.

This piece is in part a self portrait, based upon the layers of experience--both traumatic and triumphant--that make up who we are as people. It uses Artifical Intelligence, acrylic paint skins, and many transparent layers of glowing, digital hand-painting to achieve the final result. As with all my portraiture, about 7 percent of my face is trained into the character represented here.

I feel that we wear our trauma, whether we intend to or not, and it's up to us to decide if it is worn as shackles, as armor, or as decoration. For this self-portrait, the chaos and energy of those experiences are arranged in a way that enhances the beauty and character of the figure. She would not be the same without them, and the hand-crafted details speak to her intention of weaving them into her story and who she is. She is proud of her whole self, her whole story, and she insists you do not look away.