Bigger Than Survival is more than a title—it’s a truth I arrived at while standing in front of this canvas. I created this work in the middle of asking myself what it really means to be an artist. For many of us, art doesn’t come with guarantees. We juggle multiple jobs. We paint without knowing when—or if—the work will find its place in the world. People often ask, “Do you make a living from this?” And the answer is layered. I make a living in the sense that I live for this. I pour everything into the process, moment to moment, piece by piece, without certainty of where it’s going. But the drive to create doesn’t come from necessity—it comes from something deeper. This painting captures that tension: the questioning, the persistence, the quiet courage it takes to keep going. It’s a reminder that what I do is bigger than income, bigger than status—it’s breath itself. This isn’t just about surviving. It’s about becoming.