Inner Stripes | Original Abstract Acrylic Painting (10 x 20)

Completed Original • One of a Kind • Ready to Hang

Inner Stripes is an original 10 x 20 inch acrylic painting by Amy Bridges exploring identity, resilience, and the unseen experience of living with an invisible illness.

Created during a period when the artist felt compelled to hide the reality of living with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), the painting translates that internal conflict into color, geometry, and layered surface texture.

Composition & Symbolism

The composition is built around a vibrant orange geometric field that expands across the canvas in bold striped forms. The intensity of the orange dominates the painting, intentionally overwhelming the quieter elements beneath it.

At the center sits a diamond composed of five alternating purple striped forms. Purple, the artist's favorite color, represents the place where she feels most herself—calm, authentic, and at home within her own identity.

Surrounding that center, the orange structure presses inward, visually enclosing the purple core. The relationship between these colors reflects the tension between outward appearance and inner reality.

The orange was chosen intentionally as a reference to the awareness ribbon for CRPS. During this period of the artist's life, bright colors became a kind of armor. Rather than allowing others to see how difficult each day could be, she learned to present strength, energy, and normalcy—even when those outward signals concealed an entirely different experience.

Across the surface, rough dark purple scrapes interrupt the otherwise controlled geometry. Created using a piece of scrap mat board instead of a brush, these expressive marks break through the rigid structure of the painting.

They represent a turning point: the beginning of letting go of the need to constantly disguise pain for the comfort of others. Rather than hiding behind expectations, the painting begins to reclaim space for authenticity.

Medium

• Acrylic on canvas

Artwork Details

• Original acrylic painting

• Canvas size: 10 x 20 inches

• One of a kind

• Signed original artwork

• Ready to display

About This Work

Inner Stripes is an autobiographical abstract exploring the emotional landscape of invisible illness—not through literal imagery, but through relationships of color, pressure, and form.

While rooted in the artist's personal experience living with CRPS, the work speaks more broadly to the experience of anyone who has felt compelled to conceal part of themselves in order to meet the expectations of others. It ultimately reflects the gradual decision to stop hiding and to allow authenticity to emerge, even when doing so feels uncertain.