Thu Nguyen’s landscape and portrait paintings are inspired by such artists as Thomas Eakins and Andrew Wyeth. She is especially interested in studying her subjects’ emotional states. In this portrait of her daughter, Nguyen depicts “the contrast between the stereotype of a carefree, sweet childhood with the reality of a life often filled with anxiety.” The girl is represented as being detached from her environment, and her rigid pose contrasts with the whimsical, heart-shaped patterns on her dress.