40 x 45 inches
Oil on linen

This was my second attempt at a painting about what it feels like to watch my daughter grow up in parallel with a natural world in decline. I waited a whole year for the daffodils to bloom again and took new reference photos of her, this time in strong sunlight. I thought better source photos would help me make the painting I had wanted to make the year before.

While we were taking the photos, a winter stonefly kept landing on her face, and I knew I wanted it in the painting. Stoneflies are ancient insects whose presence can be an indicator of clean, oxygen-rich freshwater. It felt like an optimistic omen. And I loved that this tiny, ancient creature kept landing on this very contemporary kid in polka-dot pants and white Crocs.