Still water runs deep

Still Water Runs Deep” is an exploration of what exists beneath the surface — in people, in stories, and in myself.

The water may look calm, but its quiet holds depth: memory, struggle, love, and reflection. These works are born from that stillness — from learning that silence can be powerful, that peace can be hard-earned, and that depth doesn’t always show itself at first glance.

This collection revisits the figures who helped shape me — both real and imagined. It also encompasses the contrast between strength, an vulnerability. From the icons, to the fictional spirits of resilience found in anime heroes, to the stillness and beauty found in poetic Japanese thinking — each carries their own contradictions. They are reminders that greatness and imperfection live side by side. That even the strongest have shadows, and even legends have flaws.

These portraits and scenes are about what lies underneath — beneath fame, image, and memory. They reflect my own journey growing up in the South, learning to find beauty in the broken, and calm within the chaos. The art blends my reality and my reverence for japanese culture, turning my influences — cultural, spiritual, and personal — into a single visual language of stillness and depth.

Because like still water, every soul holds something unseen: currents of pain and purpose, reflection and fire, faith and flaw.

And when you take the time to look beneath the surface, you’ll find that still water runs deep.