Defying Expectationsss

My painting, Defying Expectationsss, began with a snake.
In Disney’s Zootopia 2, the directors animated their lovable protagonist, Gary De'Snake, as a blue pit viper, intentionally defying the expectation created by generations of stories that snakes are dangerous and deceitful. Gary spends the film challenging preconceived narratives while seeing the good in every situation; the filmmakers do this right alongside him. Gary’s background made me want to believe there was another perspective in my own life.

I started this piece after my first ever winter, my usual zest for life dimmed by the dreary skies. I painted my way back to a positive point of view, and learned the narrative had been mine to flip all along.

To get there, I chose elements symbolic of renewal, hope, transformation, and joy. Snakes shed their skin; flowers bloom as the earth thaws; water has a flowing energy, and the snake winds almost like a river; vibrant red and yellow hues trigger strong emotional responses of excitement, passion, happiness, and warmth; baby’s breaths symbolize everlasting love, joy, and sincerity of the heart. Meaningfully, no two flowers in this piece are identical, a reminder that each of us grows in our own way on our own timeline.

From a distance, the baby’s breaths read as stars. There is community in that—we’re all made of stardust (true fact!). It’s a reminder that we don’t have to, and shouldn’t, do this alone. Stars also remind us to dream; I think it’s a beautiful thing to keep looking upward with childlike wonder long after we’re supposed to have outgrown it.

This piece calls me back to optimism. That is the quiet courage I’m after: choosing, daily, to meet the world with openness, sincerity, and genuine curiosity, until looking for the good becomes a way of making it. I hope my art inspires others to do the same.