I painted this one slowly, layer over layer, the way you might repeat a prayer until it settles. She came out of a feeling I keep returning to, that quiet space between dusk and dream where everything feels held and still.

The bee is the heart of the piece. I built her up in archival acrylics and worked the wings in a violet, metallic glaze so the color shifts as the light moves across the surface. I wanted her to read as crowned and calm, caught in the middle of a blessing rather than in mid flight.

When the surface was right, I sealed it to last and set her in a vintage starburst frame I had been holding onto. The gold catches the light and frames her like a small fragment of sky. She is a votive offering for the wonder-hearted, for anyone who still looks up.