"Out Bound", oil on canvas, 18"x 24".
I started this painting back in 2006, stopped, and had no intension of finishing it. When I saw this man scrunched up on the Muni, alone on his half of the train car, I asked myself, "Where is his family, where are his friends?" When a scene causes me to ask questions, it hints at me that I might need to paint it. For the next year and a half, quite a few people asked me to finish it, so they could buy it. But it wasn't until I went through a serious bout with depression that I felt the strong desire to complete it. During that time, I became very inward and felt trapped in an apathetic mindset. I wanted to communicate what I was experiencing but seemed helpless to do so. Working on this painting, I felt a kin to it, as if I could finally relate to and understand this man. This painting became an outlet and way for me to communicate what was going on internally. In hind site, I was very happy to discover that even in depression I was able to have a drive and the discipline to keep painting. It made me feel like a professional.