Oil on canvas, 16”x20”

Painted in 2003, this piece comes from my earliest years of exploring abstraction. I had been experimenting with abstract work since 1998, balancing that curiosity with my deep love of painting portraits. Even then, I felt the pull to move between styles and subjects, a tendency that still shapes my work today.

This painting is a snapshot of that time in my life. It’s filled with symbols that once held specific meaning, some tied to people I knew, others born from pure invention, almost like doodles. The composition blends intentional imagery with spontaneity, allowing randomness and memory to overlap. The muted colors differ from my palette now, yet they carry the mood of that period.

It may not be my most technically refined work, (not even close), but it holds a special place for me. It’s a reminder of where I started, what I was curious about, and how I was beginning to discover my own visual language. I still paint abstracts in a similar spirit today, but they are far more refined, and I continue to explore ways to merge realism and abstraction.