First Nightmare, 2025

32" x 24" acrylic on board; Framed.

First Nightmare rises from the plain like a relic torn from the subconscious and left to harden in daylight. Its elongated, splintered head—part beast, part ruin—stretches into the sky, teeth bound by cords as if language itself has been lashed shut. Nails pierce its grain like forgotten vows, and the heavy lock at its throat suggests a secret too dangerous to utter. Wind moves through it, fraying its edges into strands of memory, while two distant figures stand at the horizon, dwarfed by this towering apparition of dread. The open landscape offers no refuge; the clouds bear silent witness. Here, nightmare is not chaos but monument—an ancient sentinel forged from fear, restraint, and the strange intimacy between silence and survival.

Reverse: A whimsical creature of dreams to counter the nightmare.