Ascend is an oil painting created over a patinaed copper surface, where the natural chemistry of oxidation lends depth and atmosphere to the background. The luminous nautilus shell spirals upward in radiant color, its form both grounded in ancient memory and alive with movement. The contrast between the enduring copper and the delicate rendering of the shell speaks to resilience, continuity, and transformation. In its rising arc, the subject suggests growth beyond limitation—an ascent into light and possibility.