Even Clouds Cast Shadows

30x40" | Acrylic on Canvas | 2024 $1400 Even Clouds Cast Shadows explores the idea of embracing imperfection—not as flaw, but as truth. My work is often described as “wabi-sabi” in style—an aesthetic rooted in the Japanese philosophy that finds beauty in the imperfect, the impermanent, and the incomplete. To me, beauty isn’t the absence of clouds: it’s learning how to let them belong. Light and shadow both matter. They create depth, contrast, honesty. In life and in art. Yes, I think about technical imperfection in my work, but more than that, I think about the shadow self—and how to let that show up honestly on canvas. Here’s the question that haunted me while making this painting: How often do we censor ourselves before we even begin because we’re terrified of being “cringe”? We live in a world that performs taste instead of living truth, where more calories are spent on curating a persona and consuming content than on creating something real. A culture that equates detachment with i