Destiny - Oil Painting by Ben Kikuyama

DESTINY

oil on canvas
36" x 48"
SOLD

When I first met my wife, I barely had done any figurative work and nothing in oil. These were two things I always wanted to explore. This was one of my first attempts at both of these things.

I was drawn to these two main characters. There was a beautiful interplay between them. I spent days and weeks trying to figure what the heck I was doing. The painting could've easily fallen apart a hundred times, but somehow it stayed together. After a couple of months, everything was done except for the archer emerging from the man's chest. Although, I really liked where it was at, it didn't feel done. I worked on a few other pieces while it sat in the corner of my studio. Finally I ran across the image of the archer and knew right away it was what the painting needed. I carefully started to work her in there, and thought I might destroy the piece, but magically, it came through.

Although it was not done consciously, this painting captures, quite nicely, the early part of our relationship. Was I trying to express our relationship subconsciously? Perhaps. Not sure.

– write-up from artist