2024

16 x 20 inches

Acrylic on Canves

This is an almost-finished portrait of my grandfather. A departure from my usual focus on history or worldbuilding, he may seem a bit out of place in this collection. Yet he exemplifies a type of history rarely discussed in popular media: family history. The elders of our society are what connect us to past times. My grandfather was born during the Second Sino-Japanese War. He told me stories of how Nationalist bombing raids forced his family to seek shelter in caves during the Chinese Civil War. In the sixties, he tried to join the air force, but physically couldn't fit into the planes of the time. He clearly remembers Mao's death, and tells me of the early days of Deng's reform. Sadly I didn't have time to complete this, but it serves as a homage to our family's beloved living history.