Study of Alstonia for a Double Portrait of Alstonia Kohle and Her Daughter Galena, 2025. Ink on two sheets of vellum, 4 x 6 in.

In this series of studies for a larger portrait of Galena and her mother, Alstonia, I’ve made use of the vellum’s translucency, stacking images on top of text copied by hand from the manuscript.

The text underlying this portrait of Alstonia comes from one of my worldbuilding documents and describes one of the many paintings adorning the walls of Kohle Manor: the only surviving double portrait of Alstonia and her daughter, Galena, who would go on to inherit the family’s properties, fortune, and art collection.