Calm Before the Storm
This painting is about that quiet moment before everything changes—the breath before the storm. The fighter stands still, waiting. Is he looking at his opponent, or just listening for the bell? Either way, he knows what’s coming. His coach stands beside him, steady and unreadable. They don’t need words. They’ve done the work, and now it’s time.
The crowd hasn’t tuned in yet, but they will. Soon, they’ll be part of the fight, feeding off the energy, reacting to every hit. The ring ropes cut across the composition, grounding the scene, while sharp diagonals in the background hint at the chaos about to unfold. That tension between stillness and motion, between discipline and raw instinct—that’s what drives this piece.
Oil paint allows me to build depth in the figures and capture the weight of the moment in a way that feels real. I’ve always been drawn to the way Sargent painted people and the way Bellows captured the grit of a fight. Like them, I want to pull the viewer in and make them feel what’s at stake.
This painting is for those who understand resilience—the kind that comes from showing up, pushing through, and standing tall even when no one’s watching—for you.
The crowd hasn’t tuned in yet, but they will. Soon, they’ll be part of the fight, feeding off the energy, reacting to every hit. The ring ropes cut across the composition, grounding the scene, while sharp diagonals in the background hint at the chaos about to unfold. That tension between stillness and motion, between discipline and raw instinct—that’s what drives this piece.
Oil paint allows me to build depth in the figures and capture the weight of the moment in a way that feels real. I’ve always been drawn to the way Sargent painted people and the way Bellows captured the grit of a fight. Like them, I want to pull the viewer in and make them feel what’s at stake.
This painting is for those who understand resilience—the kind that comes from showing up, pushing through, and standing tall even when no one’s watching—for you.