“Optic Migraine” began as a quiet still life in Nepal a decade ago, two vases, autumnal branches, and soft white blooms rendered in subdued tones, a nod to the vibrant beauty of both the country and my childhood bedroom.

As the painting journeyed with me to the U.S., it evolved.

It gained layers with surreal, abstract textures using modeling paste, giving the flowers motion, body, and a cross-continental sense of transformation.