This piece, “Enxhi”, is part of my most recent watercolor series. This series was brought about during a time of recovery for me, from an autoimmune disease that I had been diagnosed with 3 years prior. I had become very ill and was bed ridden for a long time. During the three years of wrestling with recovery from this illness, depression from being homebound and inability to socialize or physically move most days began to weigh hard on me. My portrait “Enxhi” is a portrait of one of my close friends who was there for me during this time. The background is a juxtaposition of a blue “water-like” background with floral imagery to capture the essence of nature, we would frequently visit. The "cool" palette emphasizes the feeling of serenity and ease, that I had felt in these moments when we were in nature. I also took this time to push my self and work on more difficult techniques and things that I had found challenging before with watercolor paintings.