With this piece, I wanted to shift further into abstraction and emphasize gesture, moving away from strict realism which had started to feel somewhat limiting. At the same time, I wanted to remain committed to creating the nostalgic imagery that continues to inspire my work. I based the portrait in this piece on a childhood photograph given to me by my best friend, instead of using the whole image as I had been doing. I chose to push the portrait further by emphasizing the colors I saw within the image, giving it more of an emotional, subjective quality that reminds me of the colors I saw in the world as a child. For the background, I abstracted my own memory of the beach, drawing inspiration only from feeling and impression rather than replicating a literal scene.

The title is a reference to a quote from Spongebob Squarepants, a show that has played a significant role in my friend’s life and childhood. Including this reference felt like a natural extension of the piece’s personal connection, while also reinforcing the themes of memory, emotion, and nostalgia that drive my work.