This painting explores shock, the initial stage of grief where everything feels suspended and unreal. The subject sits in an empty bathtub, with no water and no movement, emphasizing stillness and disconnection. The space reflects a moment where reality has not fully set in.

With this piece, I was thinking about the feeling right after something happens—when you haven’t fully processed it yet.

The idea of the empty bathtub came from that. It’s a space where you would expect something to be happening—water running, some kind of release—but instead, there’s nothing. It felt like a good way to represent that emotional pause.

This stage, to me, isn’t dramatic. It’s quiet and almost confusing. It’s the moment where you’re just sitting there, not fully understanding what you’re feeling yet.