Where My Sense of Temperance Begins
When I create symbolic portraits, I never think of balance as a static state. For me, temperance is movement — a quiet negotiation between the parts of myself that glow and the parts that rest in shadow. My portraits are born from this shifting equilibrium. They reflect the ongoing dialogue between intensity and stillness, between instinct and reflection, between the emotional pulse and the calm that follows. I often feel as though each piece is an act of distillation: taking the rawness of feeling, filtering it through intuition, and letting it transform into something that carries both light and darkness without collapsing into either. This is where my sense of emotional alchemy truly begins.
Light as the Expression of Inner Reveal
Light in my portraits is rarely literal. I use it the way one uses breath — to reveal what is ready to be seen. A glow rising from inside a face, a luminous seed near the chest, a soft halo outlining a hybrid form: these are not decorative choices but emotional signals. They represent clarity emerging from within, a recognition that does not need words. Light becomes a form of revelation, but a gentle one. It does not seek to erase the shadow; it seeks to converse with it. In my portraits, illumination always carries intimacy. It is the softest form of truth.
Shadow as Emotional Depth
Shadow is equally vital to my symbolic portraiture. It is not a threat, nor a void; it is the place where my internal narratives gather weight. Soft black fields, velvety gradients and dusk-toned atmospheres become the terrain where meaning can rest, settle and mature. Shadow holds what has not yet been articulated. It becomes a quiet sanctuary for emotion before it rises into clarity. When I work with shadow, I am not hiding anything — I am letting it breathe. In this sense, shadow becomes an essential ingredient in emotional alchemy. Without it, there is no transformation, no contrast, no wisdom.
The Alchemical Tension Between Light and Darkness
My portraits rely on the tension between light and shadow to create emotional resonance. I am drawn to moments where these two forces meet without overpowering each other — like the precise edge where a soft glow dissolves into black, or where a neon contour floats above a muted background. These borders are not merely aesthetic; they are psychological thresholds. They mark the places where meaning begins to shift, where intuition awakens, where something internal finds its form. This alchemical tension gives my portraits their structure. It becomes the heartbeat of the composition.
Colour as an Emotional Catalyst
In my work, colour functions as the catalyst that accelerates the alchemical process. Warm pinks carry tenderness; acid greens bring instinct; teal tones hold clarity; muted violets soften intensity; luminous pigments behave like emotional currents. When I combine them, I am creating a chemical reaction rather than a palette. The colours interact the way emotions do — sometimes clashing, sometimes harmonising, always revealing something about their relationship. In portraiture, this chromatic interplay becomes a way to express states of mind that cannot be spoken aloud. It becomes a map of inner transformation.
The Symbolic Face as a Vessel
The faces in my symbolic portraits are never meant to be literal representations. They function as vessels — containers for emotion, intuition, myth and memory. Their features often soften into abstraction; their expressions become thresholds rather than statements. A face outlined in neon can feel like a moment of awakening. A face half-submerged in shadow can feel like introspection. A mirrored face can suggest emotional duality or a state of internal negotiation. Through these symbolic faces, I explore the multiplicity of identity — how we change, how we balance, how we hold contradicting truths at once.
Botanical Elements as Emotional Extensions
Many of my symbolic portraits are intertwined with botanical forms. Flowers unfurl like pieces of the psyche, roots extend like memory, petals glow like emotional revelation. These forms act as extensions of the portrait itself, expanding the emotional vocabulary of the piece. A twisted stem can echo tension within the figure. A luminous leaf can soften an internal conflict. A seed floating near the face can signify a new intention forming. The botanical motifs are not separate from the portrait; they are emotional limbs reaching outward.
Texture as the Quiet Language of Transformation
Texture allows the alchemical process to feel lived-in and real. Grain, haze, soft blur and layered noise become the subtle evidence of transformation. Texture makes the emotional shifts feel tactile — as though something internal were imprinting itself onto the surface. A portrait without texture feels incomplete to me, because texture holds the residue of the process: the struggle, the softness, the evolution. Through it, the artwork gains a quiet pulse that echoes the subtle movements of inner balance.
Why Temperance Matters in My Portraiture
I return to the theme of temperance because it reflects the way I experience emotion: layered, contradictory, dynamic. I do not believe in emotional extremes without reconciliation. I believe in the place where intensity meets softness, where clarity and mystery coexist, where shadow does not negate light but prepares the ground for it. My portraits are attempts to visualise this internal process — the alchemy of becoming. They hold the moments when darkness protects a truth until it is ready to glow, and the moments when light acknowledges its origin in shadow.
In the end, temperance in my symbolic portraiture is not about control. It is about harmony — a harmony shaped by tension, transformation and emotional depth. My portraits are not balanced because they avoid extremes; they are balanced because they embrace them and allow them to coexist. This is the alchemy I search for: light and shadow speaking to each other, transforming each other, creating a face that feels both human and mythical, grounded and dreamlike, fragile and luminous at once.
