This was a personal project that came from both my desire to improve my technical skills and an idea that I wanted to visualize. I was interested in creating a piece that combined two subjects with very different meanings.

The main idea I wanted to explore was the contrast between life and death. Flowers are usually associated with beauty, growth, and positive emotions, while a skull is often connected to death and decay. I was curious about what would happen if I placed these two ideas together, and how color could help control the feeling of the piece.

I began by sketching the skull in graphite so I could keep the proportions and composition consistent. I intentionally kept the skull desaturated and almost lifeless, so the colors of the flowers would feel stronger in comparison. After finishing the skull, I started placing the flowers around it, making sure that each area felt balanced and not overcrowded. As I continued working, I adjusted the values and textures so the skull and flowers would feel like they belonged in the same piece while still keeping tension between them.

Through this project, I learned that contrast does not always need to be complicated. Simple choices, like color, subject matter, and placement, can create a strong tension between two ideas. This piece helped me understand how balance and unity can make contrast feel more intentional.