Nicole's Story Behind The Painting:

Besides painting, I also express myself through singing and songwriting. For several months, the phrase "flying solo" kept coming back up when I was improvising lyrics on the piano. Then the phrase grew, becoming, "It's like walking on water, it’s like gliding on ice, like flying solo, soaring through the sky." Eventually, I also started adding, "Defying gravity, so I don’t die, turning hate into love, so my soul can survive."

One night, the sunset had passed and my apartment was dark, except for the light of a small lamp by the window, which emits an orange light.

The next day, I painted this work. There's a vibrance to the color, but also an emotional angst embedded in the image. I can almost see bird shapes and spinning or flying figures, masked in the deep orange color as if they’re struggling to break free so they can fly unburdened.