I started this painting after being let go from a long creative director role. That layoff forced me to reconnect with the part of myself that simply needed to make art. For 25 years I'd prioritized my career and neglected the curious kid who once used art to make sense of the world. In this piece I painted simple moments from my childhood-visual impressions that had lodged themselves in the mind of a young observer. I realized how deeply the memories were intertwined with colors and patterns that shaped who I am as a creative. They took me back to that sense of wonder. To the endless hours spent observing, imagining, and feeling everything. These images and words re-summoned emotions of joy, fear, love, and loss. These artifacts live within me and are a way of processing both beauty and pain. This painting is really about survival through observation and creation. How I process life, connect emotion to meaning, and stay in touch with the radiant spirit that never left me.