"Nia" is a captivating large-scale portrait of my decade long best friend. She is depicted as looking hopeful for the future, but that isn't the truth. I have brought her to life by carefully studying the nuances in her expression, and the painting as a whole is ignited by the gestural mark-making in the background, representing the darkness, the light, and the colour that radiates from her. To celebrate her identity as a black woman, I wanted to highlight her hair by using similar brushstrokes in the background, and having it stand out against her shirt which I left loose and unfinished. Her photorealistic, detailed face against the abstract, chaotic background is a way of exhibiting the power she has over the circumstances life brings her.

Isabelle Halmos

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Isabelle Halmos is an emerging artist from Toronto and a 2021 graduate from OCAD University. Her work focuses on the female experience where she is able to celebrate women’s bodies through expressionistic colour and bold, playful compositions that tell a story.