This painting is part of my series called “The Way.” I wanted to make a painting surrounding the theme of divine refinement. I’ve often heard the term ‘refiner’s fire’—this painting was inspired by that. I wanted to portray the painful but warm process of being refined by God. This was challenging since the concept isn’t a visual one, it’s something we experience internally, but I was excited to rise up to the challenge! The action of the figure, the composition, the pose and the light were deliberately designed to help depict this theme!