Between Who I Was and Who I Will Be - Watercolour and Charcoal

This work explores the space between leaving military service and discovering who you are beyond the uniform. The veteran, drawn in charcoal, appears transparent, reflecting the fragile sense of identity in transition. The vast, open landscape and rising dawn painted in watercolour carry both the weight of uncertainty and the quiet promise of renewal. It is a moment of contemplation, caught between the fading past and the hopeful horizon of what lies ahead.

This artwork captures one of the most difficult, yet transformative experiences faced by many veterans: the moment of separation from military service. It portrays the fragile space between past identity and an uncertain future.
In the foreground sits a solitary figure, hunched and grounded, weighed down by the gravity of change. The figure’s posture speaks of grief, confusion, and the quiet contemplation. For years, military service may have defined who they were, a uniform, a role, a community, a purpose. When that is suddenly gone, the question becomes: who am I now? The figure embodies that moment of searching, caught in the in-between.
Above and around the figure, the sky tells its own story. The upper half is marked with darker, brooding tones, representing the shadows of loss and the lingering storm of disconnection. This darkness mirrors the internal struggle, the silence of no longer belonging to the world that once provided direction and identity. Yet as the eye moves downward, the palette shifts. Golden light fills the horizon, blending warmth into the composition. This yellow glow suggests possibility, hope, and renewal. It reminds us that even within despair, the horizon always carries the promise of a new dawn.
The emptiness of the landscape is deliberate. It reflects the vast openness veterans face after service, at first overwhelming, even isolating. But within that openness lies freedom: the chance to rebuild, to rediscover purpose, to step toward something not yet formed but waiting.
Between Who I Was and Who I Will Be is not just about struggle, it is about transition. It acknowledges the depression and loss that come with separation from identity, while also holding space for what is yet to come. The figure does not remain in shadow; they are set against a rising sky, one that gently suggests that the journey forward may be unknown, but it is not without light.
This piece invites viewers to sit with both sides of that journey: to recognise the pain of endings and to honour the courage it takes to walk toward new beginnings.