Life After… is a body of work that began in spring 2023, emerging from a period of personal restlessness and a desire for change. The series imagines a world after abandonment—land left behind, quiet and uninhabited—where animals become the primary witnesses and travelers. Horses and cats move through forested terrain, carrying the momentum of having migrated from the shoreline.

The work expands an ongoing investigation into mark making and form, using a primary color palette that leans heavily into playfulness and intuition. Color operates symbolically, drawing from traditions like Franz Marc’s use of primaries to suggest archetype and emotional states, as well as his view of animals as bearers of purity in contrast to human corruption. Within the series, horses and red cats shift back and forth as focal points, marking shifts from movement and territorial awareness.

Using techniques such as kokology, a connection was made to the playfulness that primary colors provide. The dark, rich handling overall recalls the handmade, experimental quality of 1970s cookbooks—vivid, adventurous, and tactile. As the series develops, cats take on an increasingly significant role, symbolizing autonomy, protection, and the claiming of space in a world reshaped after.