What if this is the beginning?

I was walking through the MoMA in New York, half distracted, just flowing through the rooms. And then, all at once, I found myself standing in front of Monet’s water lilies, those enormous panels that swallow the space and slow time. Something shifted inside me. I sat down. I stayed. I cried. Not out of sadness. It was something else. A feeling of softness I had almost forgotten. A sense of home.

I didn’t know it would eventually become a painting. I didn’t even think of it as inspiration. It was simply a seed, buried quietly inside me. But when the time was right, it found its way back not through my thoughts, but through my hands.

“What if this is the beginning?” was born with that exact energy. It carries no literal reference, and yet everything in it belongs to that feeling I had in that room. It’s not a copy. It’s a translation. A place that doesn’t exist in the world, but lives vividly in memory. The memory of light on water. The memory of breath. The memory of something peaceful enough to believe in again.

This canvas is large and important as  I wanted the viewer to feel surrounded by movement, softness, life. The brushstrokes follow the rhythm of reflection: greens blending into turquoise, gold slipping into shadow, bursts of violet and coral rising through layers like petals emerging after the rain. I wanted to paint the sensation of stillness after struggle. I wanted to offer a place to rest.

This work speaks to nature, yes, to ponds and lilies and the dance of things underwater but more than that, it speaks to the human need for beginnings that feel gentle. For chapters that don’t demand, but invite. For beauty that doesn’t shout, but steadies us.

I gave it a question as a title, because that’s what this painting is. A question that doesn’t need an answer. A possibility.
What if this is the beginning? What if peace starts here, even if everything before felt like too much?

For me, painting this was a form of healing.
A way to return to myself through color, water, and memory.
And now this work is here, still breathing, still waiting, ready to become part of someone else’s story.

Maybe it’s yours.

Because not all beginnings arrive with noise and fireworks.
Some slip in like soft light through the leaves.
Some bloom quietly, like lilies on still water.
And some begin with a simple question whispered by your heart:
What if this is the beginning?

NOTE: 

This large-format painting is shipped mounted and ready to hang for all collectors based in Europe.

For destinations outside the EU, the artwork will be shipped rolled in a reinforced, protective tube.
This choice is intentional and protective: it avoids potential customs issues and eliminates any risk of damage during international transit.
The surface of the painting especially with textured oil, gold leaf, and ink is precious and irreplaceable. Rolling it is the safest way to preserve it.

You’ll receive clear professional guidance for stretching the canvas once it arrives, and I remain available for any assistance you may need.