Collections Unveiled: Aurora Borealis Artwork by Brooklyn Artist

Welcome to the first installment of Collections Unveiled! In this new series, I will share the personal stories behind my artwork, along with behind-the-scenes insight into how I create my 3D, heavy texture acrylic paintings. This series is about more than finished pieces; it’s about the moments, emotions, and seasons of life that shape my art. I’m starting this series by getting deeply personal and sharing the story behind a painting that has been years in the making, starting with the original, Mayday Under Aurora Borealis, to the newest installment, Saved under Aurora Borealis.

The Original Artwork: Mayday Under Aurora Borealis

Creating Mayday Under Aurora Borealis back in November 2022 marked a turning point for me. It was the first time I had worked with heavy texture acrylic paint, and also the first time I had truly created art in years.

Working with thick, textured paint gave me a new perspective on what art could be for me. It reminded me of what art had already done for me in the past, and what it could still do. It reminded me that art can be healing. It also showed and allowed me to release emotions that I didn’t yet have words for. It became an outlet that I could use to communicate what I was feeling when I didn’t know how to explain it out loud.

The Storm I Was In

At the time I created this piece, I was completely lost in motherhood. I had lost my sense of identity and felt disconnected from who I once was. I was a struggling mother trying to navigate my young daughter’s emotional and behavioral challenges, searching for support, answers, and understanding, all while learning how to parent in a COVID and post-COVID world.

I had also recently left a job of ten years, not realizing how much of my identity was tied to it. I hadn’t painted in years. I felt unfulfilled, overwhelmed, and unsure of where my life was headed next. I didn’t know it then, but I was grieving while also searching for something to hold onto.

Finding Light in the Darkness

Around that time, I came across a painting by another artist. The painting depicted a figure appearing to rise toward a glowing sky or swim upward toward light on the surface of the water. The artist wrote about how nothing lasts forever, that all things pass. That message struck me deeply.

It reminded me that the hard season I was in would not last forever, and that I would figure things out. This storm would eventually pass, but I needed to look towards the light. 

It also taught me to stop relying solely on myself and to lean more on my husband, my family, and my faith. Through this, I began to trust that even when things feel impossible, there is guidance, hope, and light beyond what we can see. This inspiration led me to create Mayday Under Aurora Borealis.

Original Mayday Under Aurora Borealis, Nov. 22. Heavy Texture Acrylic on Canvas Board

The painting depicts a shipwreck being tossed violently by waves. There is nothing the person aboard can do except look to the sky, which glows with the beauty of the Northern Lights. I wanted to capture the juxtaposition of beauty and disaster. A reminder that even when we feel lost at sea, crushed by waves, we can still look up and find God.

God and His light are there guiding us.  

After painting this piece, I wrote:

December 21, 2022 | Mayday Under Aurora Borealis

 When there is darkness we look for light.

 When there is chaos we look for peace

When there is ugliness we look for beauty 

When we find ourselves in a storm drowning in a sea of emotions calling “mayday! mayday!” with no way out, no help in sight. All we are left to do is to look to the sky and pray.

We pray that maybe the waves will calm and the storm will pass.

That we might be saved to live to tell the story.

This painting was the start of something. It changed me and gave me the courage to keep going. 

Finishing the Story: Saved Under Aurora Borealis

On November 7, 2025, nearly three years later, I rediscovered my original Mayday painting. The heavy texture on the canvas board had warped over time. As I studied it, my first thought was that I could do this better now.

I’ve spent years working with this medium, and I’ve grown as an artist. More importantly though, I’ve grown as a person. Seeing the original painting also caused me to reflect on where I was in 2022 versus where I am now. While reflecting, I realized something important: we need to know how the story ends.

So, I decided to retell the story with this painting.

In this new version, Saved under Aurora Borealis, we still see the swirling aurora lights, the battered ship, and the angry waves. But there is one crucial difference: We find land! We survive! 

The ship is broken, but there are more pieces of it now. The broken sail has washed ashore, waving in surrender. A life preserver appears as a symbol that we survived. We made it through the storm, and we lived to tell the story.

This painting is about resilience and taking what we’ve endured and carrying the lessons forward, and sharing our stories so others know they’re not alone.

Storms are part of the journey. They shape us, stretch us, and change us, but they do not last forever.

Saved under Aurora Borealis | 36 x48 | Acrylic, Heavy Texture, UV reactive painting

Why I Share This Story

In 2022, I painted for the first time in years and released a flood of emotion I had been holding inside. I felt battered by waves, lost at sea, and unsure how I would survive. All I could do was look to the sky and pray.

In 2025, I returned to that painting because I had rediscovered myself. Storms still come, but now I know they pass. For me, God provides the light, the way forward, and the path to land.

We all go through trials and endure storms throughout life. However, sharing our stories brings us together, and could very well be the hope or encouragement someone needs to get them through.

Telling our stories rebuilds hope, love, and community where they may have once been lost. I am so thankful for the artist who inspired me to keep going, to create, and enabled this story to take shape. Because they shared their work and the story behind it, I was encouraged and found the hope I needed. I pray that my story does the same for others. 

If you connected to my story or this piece, Saved Under Aurora Borealis, is currently available here.

Thank you for being here and for allowing me to share my heart through art.