Acrylic painting “Silent Drift” (2025) by Paul Cheng

When the artist created this painting, he wanted to capture the feeling of “loneliness in weightlessness underwater.” Water is a symbol of both suffocation and purification. Paul Cheng depicted the figure floating in the deep blue, her body open yet powerless, as if suspended between life and death, reality and dream. The radiant white dress represents the last glimmer of hope and the purity of the soul. Technically, the artist used cool and warm blue tones to convey the depth and pressure of the water. By contrasting the dark background with light areas, he created visual tension. The brushwork of the folds in the dress, which merge with the water, emphasizes fluidity and transparency, giving the composition a breathing rhythm.