While painting this piece, I came across the proverb ‘Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over she became a butterfly’ and it resonated with me on a number of levels. The model is my daughter who finished school last year and is now studying. I love watching her discover herself as she emerges into the world, however it is tinged with sadness as it is a reminder of how life changes and evolve. Death has touched me many times over the past few years and it has underlined the fact that I too have to emerge from one phase of my life and find purpose and joy in the next.