This is the first painting of a new era. Even though we are almost in the middle of the year, it feels like I didn’t truly start painting until I worked on this piece. “Sun Dance” is a visual representation of a portal, an initiation, an invitation to something new. While working on this piece, I wanted to channel a sense of freedom and release. I wasn’t quite sure what that meant at first, so I began by painting the thing I most associate most with freedom—the Sun. Perhaps because I come from Brazil, where the Sun’s warmth has always symbolized freedom to me. It represents the freedom to show your body, to let sweat run, and to take the time to be slow and just exist. With that vision in mind, the pieces just naturally unfolded before me. Even though we aren’t yet in the full swing of summer, I also wanted this painting to capture those moments when, after the long winter and autumn months, you sense that summer is on the horizon. You notice the days getting longer, the sunsets becoming more vibrant, and the colors during the day growing brighter. This painting, to me, is a portal. And what else do you do when you stand before a portal? You dance. -Antonia xx