After hearing a clip of Life Boat on Instagram, it’s hard to recall if I listened to Raye’s THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE first on YouTube Music or if I cold bought the album on iTunes. What I do remember is laughing, crying and feeling a grounded sense of rapture. One thing I REALLY appreciate about this album is that, while it is hopeful, it does not skip past the pain. It acknowledges pain repeatedly and from different angles.

Picture of me walking on my walking pad backwards.

The color yellow, especially after my previous paintings, feels offensive. But offensive felt like the correct vibe for this piece. Wondering if I had a similiar shade of yellow in nail polish, I was hyped to find two! I took the one that matched more and started painting Crissi’s nails. Here’s a pic before I added any designs.

Picture here is my mannequin hand named Crissi, with bright yellow nails.

Sometimes to move through “negative” feelings we have to actually acknowledge them. And sometimes those feelings are offensive, off-putting. We want to move past them, not through them. There’s a time and place for both moving through and moving on. The first largely emphasizes acknowledgment; the other relies heavily on letting go. This painting is an ode to the former.

Pictured here, my piece: I h8 YOU.

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