Acrylics on Canvas · 36×48 inches · 2025 · Contemporary Expressionism

Hold

Chapter 1 of 5

The Word Itself

Hold. It means to grip, to contain, to pause. It also means to endure — as in, hold on. This painting lives at the intersection of all those meanings, in the tension between letting go and staying.

Chapter 2 of 5

Expressionism as Honesty

There was no preliminary sketch for this piece. The marks come directly from feeling — urgent in places, slow in others, occasionally violent where the emotion demanded it. Expressionism does not explain itself; it shows itself.

Chapter 3 of 5

The Body in Paint

Contemporary expressionism returns painting to the physical. The brushstroke is not decorative — it is evidence. Every mark on this canvas is a record of a moment in the body of the artist.

Chapter 4 of 5

What We Hold

Grief holds. Hope holds. The way a hand holds another hand in a moment that cannot last. This painting does not resolve the tension it names — it holds it, carefully, the way you hold something that must not be dropped.

Chapter 5 of 5

Presence

Hold works best on a wall where you live — not a public wall, but a personal one. It is the kind of painting that finds you at different hours with different things to say.