The Warmest Goodbye

This acrylic painting captures the anticipation I felt on the bus ride to visit my brother—an emotion that felt both quiet and bursting at once. I painted myself seated by the window, and over this, I drew childlike crayon markings, scattered across the walls and seats, as if my younger self couldn’t resist leaving traces of excitement everywhere. The crayons were a deliberate contrast to the acrylic: where the crayons were spontaneous and unrestrained.
My portfolio follows my journey from a shy child to a confident performer, and this piece represents the in-between—the moment when emotion first begins to break through restraint. Painting this scene reminded me how self-expression often begins in small, uncontrollable bursts: the scribbles of feeling that later grow into art, voice, and confidence. In creating it, I rediscovered that same childlike urge to make marks just because I had to—to let joy spill onto the page without hesitation.