Rhiannon's Labour, Portrait of Keelan Bailey [Dimensions: e.g., 24" x 36" or your actual size] · Carbon pencil, blackening watercolours, and inks on paper mounted to canvas · [2019–2024]
This portrait reimagines the Welsh mythological Rhiannon—enduring unjust punishment, laboring through trials, yet embodying quiet strength and eventual vindication—through the real-life figure of Keelan Bailey. The sitter's gaze holds both vulnerability and resilience, emerging from layered shadows that evoke the burdens carried and the light that follows.
Rhiannon's story of perseverance mirrors personal themes of betrayal, endurance, and rebirth: the blackening process strips away pretense, revealing the unmasked self beneath hardship. The work honors the subject's inner labour—transforming pain into quiet power—while questioning how myths live in modern lives.
Part of an ongoing series blending portraiture with mythological resonance—dark yet eternally optimistic in its affirmation of human endurance.
Inquiries welcome for acquisition, studio view, or related works: blairaiken@raincage.com