"Heffalumps & Healing"

Acrylic on 11x16 paper

One of my earliest works after my brain injury.

I wasn’t trying to paint anything specific—

I just wanted to play.

And then these two abstract elephants appeared.

Bold. Whimsical. A little ridiculous.

But joyful.

They reminded me that even in pain,

even in relearning how to create,

joy can still visit the canvas.

This one feels like laughter.

Like inner child permission.

Like the moment I remembered:

“I still know how to have fun.”