12021-04-24T18:52:26-04:00"Portrait" (2019) and "empty words inspire" (2021), by and contributed by Mai Kim Nguyen (2021)4plain2021-04-24T19:14:28-04:00I wrote "empty words inspire" after painting Portrait, to capture the feelings I felt leading up to finally starting this painting. My progression, from painting, to poem, and still onto other forms lets me know that grieving, like creating art, is not necessarily a linear process. For example, I wrote this poem in January 2021, and now I'm not sure that I really do want to say "goodbye". It comforts me to read my poem and see that my canvas is no longer empty.
Portrait (2019) empty words inspire (2021) I said I would paint you a painting. But in truth, I never said anything.
I thought, think, I will paint you a painting. I thought, think, on what I will paint sunset balloon your portrait to portray my "goodbye"
