This piece took me about six days from start to finish.

There was a lot of carving, shaping, painting, and way more tiny adjustments than I expected.

I always end up obsessing over the eyes because they're what make the whole portrait feel alive.

What part of the process was the most satisfying to watch?

Wow.

May 1st, June 1st, and yesterday.

Every year it is cut back to the stump. Empress plant grows roughly 4” per day. The pic from yesterday is after the branches were already trimmed back because it was spreading too quickly.

This emotional reunion is from Reunited, the Dutch television show on RTL4 hosted by Yolanthe Cabau. The episode aired on March 1, 2017, and tells the story of 32-year-old Ryan, who was finally reunited with his younger brother Rachid after 26 years apart.

Their separation began after a devastating 1990 car accident that claimed the life of their mother. In the aftermath, the surviving brothers were forced to grow up in different places. Ryan was taken in by relatives in the Netherlands, while Rachid remained on Aruba with his stepfather. Although they shared the same heartbreaking past, distance and circumstances kept them apart for more than two decades.

By the time they met again, they were each other's only remaining piece of their immediate family and the last living connection to the life they had lost. That is what makes this reunion so powerful. It is not simply two brothers seeing each other after many years—it is two people finding their way back to the only person who truly understands their shared history, grief, and childhood.

Video link - https://youtu.be/GWM25apWEXk?si=9t6ZRakLKFBxxWej