This painting a 10" x 10" acrylic marks the first in my series exploring the psychological stages of crisis response. Rendered in bold, fragmented strokes and visceral color, the piece captures the raw immediacy of trauma’s first impact—the moment before comprehension, when instinct and emotion collide. A single, wide eye anchors the composition, confronting the viewer with a gaze that is both vacant and piercing, embodying the disorientation and hyper-awareness that often follows crisis. The chaotic layering of reds, blues, and whites evokes a fractured psyche, suspended between shock and survival. My abstract approach allows the emotional truth to surface without constraint, inviting viewers to witness—not just a face—but the mind in motion, reacting before it can reason. This work sets the tone for a series that will trace the arc of trauma through its many psychological thresholds.