Oil on canvas, 36”x36”

This is a portrait of my cousin (really, more like a brother) painted around 2000 or 2001. At the time, I was three or four years into my art journey and dreaming of how to make a living from painting. I thought if I created something truly exceptional, something that captured someone we all loved, maybe (hopefully) his mother would be moved to buy it.

So I poured everything I had into thr painting. I even brought in my younger sister, also an artist, and together we labored over every detail. It was the hardest I had ever worked on a painting up until then. I was incredibly proud of it.

When it was finished, I showed it to my aunt, and tried to sell it to her. She was livid. She couldn’t believe I’d ask for money instead of giving it to her as a gift. We argued and eventually I gave her the painting. It still hangs in her home today.

It makes me laugh now. I set out to make my first big sale, and instead walked straight into my first time getting ripped off. Just kidding, I meant to say a lesson about love and generosity…something like that. 😜