The Balance Within (2026)
Original Fine Art Painting by Ashvin Harrison
Artwork Description:
The Balance Within is an original fine art painting by Ashvin Harrison, exploring vulnerability, inner conflict, and the quiet strength found in moments of emotional stillness. This work reflects the fragile equilibrium between protection and openness — where the human spirit folds inward, yet remains deeply alive.
At the heart of the composition sits a solitary female figure, rendered in refined coconut charcoal realism. Her body is curled inward, knees drawn close, one arm wrapped protectively around herself while her other hand covers her face. The pose speaks softly of introspection, overwhelm, and self-containment — a moment where the world feels heavy, yet survivable. Harrison’s charcoal technique captures the anatomy with gentle precision, allowing light and shadow to convey tenderness rather than tension.
Perched upon her shoulder is a small wren bird, delicately painted in vivid colour. Its presence introduces a quiet counterpoint to the monochrome figure — a symbol of resilience, thought, and inner voice. The bird does not flee or intrude; it waits. In this stillness, it becomes a metaphor for balance itself — the fragile idea that even in moments of emotional retreat, hope and clarity remain close, if we allow them.
Subtle splashes of blue and gold drift outward from the bird, breaking the silence of the white space. These restrained gestures suggest thought, emotion, and energy escaping the confines of the body — not in chaos, but in quiet release. The contrast between realism and abstraction mirrors the internal experience of holding oneself together while emotions gently spill beyond control.
Through his evolving Motusrealism practice, Harrison unites lifelike realism with expressive abstraction, allowing emotion to be felt rather than explained. The Balance Within invites the viewer to sit with discomfort without judgment, to recognise strength in softness, and to understand that balance is not the absence of struggle, but the ability to hold opposing states at once.
Details:
Title: The Balance Within (2026)
Artist: Ashvin Harrison
Medium: Coconut charcoal powder, acrylics, and oil paints on canvas
Canvas: Premium museum-grade stretched cotton canvas
Size: 122 x 91 cm (36 x 48 inches)
Technique: Charcoal realism with restrained expressive abstraction
Finish: Multi-layered gesso base, sealed with archival museum-grade fixatives
Presentation: Stretched canvas, ready to hang
Authenticity: Signed on the front; hand-signed and dated on the reverse; includes signed certificate of authenticity
Shipping: Professionally packaged with full insurance for secure delivery
Additional Artwork Information
Ashvin Harrison paints realistic artworks inspired by real life posing people and nature, photographs or imagination. Also, all artworks have a charcoal dust element to them. This painting, like most pieces, is a mixture of acrylics, acrylic medium thinners, acrylic medium flows and also mixing additives with charcoal dust paint. This completely new made up approach to create art is a large part of Ashvin’s fast growing popularity in the art world.
Please contact me if you would like to see more photos or also seek more information about this artwork. All artworks ship for free to any country and also location within. Insurance and import taxes paid for by Ashvin, making for stress free purchasing and arrival of your new painting.
If this artwork is not the one for you, please check out the Artworks in Stock Page. Contact Ashvin to discuss a custom commissioned artwork. Ashvin can also create on different size formats of rolled or ready to hang artworks. Also, Ashvin offers super sized rolled canvas artworks up to 265cm (104″).