I had this image in my head long before I started painting. And for once, it turned out exactly the way I imagined it. That almost never happens.

Usually, I work in what I call “controlled coincidence.” I use a lot of water, layers, and texture mediums, and the surface reacts in its own unpredictable way. I can guide it, but I can’t control it completely. Most of the time, the background - the world my figures live in - creates itself through this process.

With Dawn, the random textures and soft light came together perfectly on their own. I wanted the scene to feel endless, so I spent a lot of time thinking about the vanishing point and how to create depth with almost no color. Instead of brushes, I worked mostly with my hands, pushing and moving the medium around for hours until it felt right.

When I finally added the little penguin, I started obsessing over the footprints. I reworked them over and over again - the curve, the distance, the shadow. They’re not straight, not perfect. Just like life.

We don’t know where he’s coming from or where he’s going. We just see a moment of change - the first light of a new beginning.