Collectors ask about this painting more than almost any other. They see the shape rising through the blue and ask: is that an ankh? Yes. Once I tell them what the ankh meant to the ancient Egyptians, and what it means to me now, the painting changes for them. It stops being only color. It becomes a wish for their life, hanging on their wall.
The painting is called The Way to the Heaven. I painted it in 2018, 27 by 39 inches, oil on canvas. Some collectors first knew it as Ascension, and both names point to the same idea: rising. Not escaping life, but rising inside it — becoming stronger, clearer, more alive than you were before.
What the ankh means
The ankh is one of the oldest symbols in the world. In ancient Egypt it meant life itself — not just breathing, but life with spirit in it. Life that continues and renews. It was carved into temple walls and painted inside tombs, because people believed life was a force that kept going.
I grew up with these symbols. They are not decoration to me. When I paint an ankh, I am reaching back to something understood thousands of years ago: that a human life is precious, and that we are meant to rise toward light, not stay buried in darkness.
That is why this work lives alongside my Feet series in spirit. Those paintings are about the passage from one stage to a superior one — growth, confidence, evolution. The Way to the Heaven says the same thing in a different language. The ankh is the destination. Rising is the road.
Why blue?
People expect an ankh to be gold. In Egypt it often was — gold for the sun, gold for eternity. I painted mine blue on purpose.
Blue is the color of deep water and wide sky — calm, but also depth. I did not want the symbol to feel like jewelry. I wanted it to feel like heaven opening, like the moment before dawn when the sky is still dark blue but you know the light is coming. Collectors tell me blue makes the painting peaceful to live with. It does not shout at a room. It lifts a room, quietly.
Blue is also honest. Rising is not always joyful while it is happening. Sometimes it happens through a hard season — grief, starting over, building a new life in a new country. Blue holds that seriousness. Then the lighter passages break in, and the ankh begins to glow. That glow is the promise: transformation is real.
How I painted the rising
I paint in oil because oil lets me build a feeling in layers. I laid the deep blues down first — the weight, the night, the part of life we all start from. Then I worked the ankh up through those layers, lifting the color, opening the center, letting the form emerge instead of sitting flat on top.
Stand close and you will see the texture. This is not a print — every painting of mine is a single original, never printed, signed by my hand. There is only one of this canvas. When the light changes from morning to evening, the layers catch it differently, and the ankh seems to rise a little more, or rest a little deeper.
Where this painting belongs
At 27 by 39 inches, The Way to the Heaven is a strong accent size — larger than a small decorative piece, right for a living room wall that needs one meaningful focal point, an entry where you want a blessing on the house, a bedroom where you want calm with depth, or an office where you do hard work and need a reminder of why you keep going.
A painting should do more than match a sofa. It should say something true in the room, every day, without words. Collectors who choose this work are usually marking a chapter: a recovery, a new beginning, a faith they hold, a person they remember. If that is you, I understand. That is exactly why I painted it.
I am a living artist, painting now in Riverside, California. If this painting speaks to you, write to me and I will answer you myself — about the ankh, the colors, whether this size will work on your wall. That is the gift of buying from a living painter: the story comes from the hand that made it.
Looking for the right piece for your wall? Write to me at [email protected] — tell me about your room and I will help you find the painting that belongs there, and tell you the story behind it.