Failing Towards Brilliance (16" x 20", oil, 2025) is a deeply personal exploration of grief, heritage, and artistic process. Inspired by Arshile Gorky’s The Artist and His Mother, this work reflects on the tension between intention and outcome, and how repeated “failures” can still hold meaning. The portrait of my late mother was built, erased, and remade multiple times, becoming both a painting and a record of struggle. It questions whether the act of reworking can be a form of honoring. See my blog post describing the process here for a deeper look at the evolution of this piece.

In The Barber of Alexandria, artist Marie Khediguian paints herself into a 1950s family photo, blending oil, memory, and diaspora. Inspired by her grandfather’s barbershop in Alexandria, Egypt, the piece reclaims Armenian heritage through intimate storytelling. This work explores nostalgia, trauma, and belonging with emotional depth and painterly precision.

Bright colours blur into a magical scene, where dream-like hues and softened faces stir nostalgia and mystery. This painting, inspired by a photograph of my grandfather with his children—including my mother—captures the interplay of memory and imagination. Enlarged with magical realism, it conveys the emotional essence of a moment where clarity is elusive but significance reigns.