The Wolf Inside of Me

Acrylic, oil, charcoal, pastel, aerosol on canvas, by artist Terry Urban.

Size 122 x 91x 3,8 cm (36 x 48 x 1.5 in)

The Wolf Inside of Me reads as a self-portrait shaped by instinct, restraint, and the tension between the two.

The central figure stands composed in formal attire, yet his face is split between light and shadow, suggesting a quiet internal divide. Emerging from his body, the wolf appears not as an external threat but as something deeply embedded-playful in form yet carrying an underlying edge, a reminder of impulse, hunger, and the parts of ourselves we try to keep contained.

The loose, gestural lines and layered paint create a sense of movement beneath the surface, as if the figure is holding something just barely in check. There's a balance between control and surrender, where identity is shaped not only by how one presents to the world, but by what lives underneath.

The painting captures that ongoing negotiation between civility and instinct-the version of ourselves we show, and the one that never fully disappears.