Morning Shave with Teddy at the Mirror

Some mornings stay with us long after we have grown out of our pajamas. In this painting, I wanted to hold one of those mornings still. A small boy stands barefoot on a wooden step stool, reaching for a world that is not yet his. His face is wrapped in a thick beard of shaving cream, and a blue razor hovers near his cheek with careful, serious attention. In the silver-framed mirror, he meets himself: part child, part the man he imagines becoming.

Beside him, his teddy bear sits on the edge of the porcelain sink, wearing a foam beard of its own. I smiled while painting that detail. It speaks of loyalty, of the companions who join us in every game, every rehearsal for growing up.

I let warm golden light pour through the window, softening the cool blue tiles and drifting through the morning steam. That contrast between warmth and coolness feels like childhood itself: tender, fleeting, full of quiet wonder.

This scene belongs to one boy, yet I believe it belongs to all of us. We have all stood on our toes before a mirror, trying on the future. May it invite you to remember your own.