I found the frame before I had the painting. It’s a hand-carved cathedral triptych, antique and worn in the right places, and it sat in my studio for a while before I understood what belonged inside it.

The skull isn’t meant to be unsettling. Memento mori paintings have been around for centuries for a reason. There’s something settling about looking at mortality directly instead of around it. The poppies came naturally from that. So did the beetle. I’ve been drawn to scarab imagery for years; the way it carries both the ordinary and the sacred in the same shell felt right for this piece.

The metallic pigments were a late decision, but the right one. They give the flowers a restless quality. The way light moves across them changes depending on where you’re standing. That felt true to what the piece is about. Things look different depending on how close you’re willing to get.