Princess and the Me

January 2023

Mixed media (watercolor, pen, colored pencil)

Princess and the Me is about overthinking and self-image. The original fable tells a story of a princess who cannot sleep because of a simple pea under hundreds of mattresses. This one problem causes the princess to be unable to sleep. I related this story to my own experience with lying awake at night. Instead of a pea keeping me awake, it is myself. My past and current actions are the only things making me unable to sleep. I wanted the room to also add to this atmosphere. The overcrowded walls represent racing thoughts, all happening on top of each other. The laundry thrown across the floor shows a form of self-sabotage. Leaving a mess on the floor only worsens your state of mind.