Abyssal Agony: Part I     The Solitude of Storms

Part II in the Abyssal Agony series

A visual testimony of endurance, transformation, and the quiet power of surviving.

 

Unshaken is the second piece in my series, Abyssal Agony: The Solitude of Storms. While the first painting captures the loneliness and inner ache that comes in the heart of life’s storms, Unshaken tells the story of what comes after - the rising. The rebuilding. The resilience.

 

This piece is one of the most emotionally personal and symbolically rich paintings I’ve ever created. It was born out of a season in my life marked by pain, isolation, and inner chaos - but also a determination to survive with meaning. To endure not just for the sake of survival, but to transform the wreckage into something that could inspire others.

 

The creation began with a black and white background - the upper half painted as a dissolving fog, representing the emotional storm I had just weathered. A sense of heaviness, fading. Below that, the lower half reveals a calm but weighty sea of solitude, a quiet aftermath.

 

Within this space, I incorporated abstract forms made from real bark, gathered from my own backyard. These natural textures symbolize the pieces of ourselves we shed in pain - the parts we release in order to grow stronger and more grounded. They carry the rawness of what is real and human.

 

Near the base of the composition, a broken ship’s wheel lies amidst the quiet wreckage - a visual representation of life’s loss of control, especially during trauma, and the drifting that often follows.

 

In the center sits a solitary figure in a long black coat, turned away, holding a red umbrella. That figure is the internal self - still present, still standing, though weary. The red umbrella is a powerful symbol of resilience, passion, and the inner fire that carries us forward, even when no one sees it.

 

Rising tall behind this figure is a towering, cracked tree - weathered but unbroken. Though split by the storm, it remains firmly rooted. And at its peak is the painting’s only sculptural detail: a single 3D white bloom emerging from the top. This bloom represents the moment of transformation - the breakthrough, the healing, the beauty that only emerges when we’ve been pushed to the edge and still find a way to grow.

 

And that is the heart of Unshaken.

It is about choosing to rise, even if quietly. About blooming from within the scars. About still being here.

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This piece, like The Solitude of Storms before it, has drawn deep emotional responses from many. Both originals have since found a home with a wonderful collector in Wisconsin who resonated profoundly with the energy, symbolism, and story behind each painting. Knowing these pieces now live where they are seen, felt, and understood is one of the greatest honors of my work.

 

Like my earliest inspiration — Vincent van Gogh — my mission is to create not only beauty, but truth. I want my art to be a voice for those who suffer in silence, who endure with courage, and who continue to transform pain into light.

 

Thank you for taking the time to step into this story.

May Unshaken remind you that even in your own aftermath, your roots are still deep. Your bloom still possible.

You are still here.

You are still standing.

You are Unshaken.