“Before the World Told Him No"

[3'x2' - oil on canvas] Before the World Told Him No is a vivid, postmodern celebration of raw, uninhibited joy—the kind we’re all born with, but too often learn to quiet. Inspired by my son’s fearless drawings, this work honors the unfiltered imagination of childhood: bold shapes, wild colors, no rules, no apologies. Children don’t worry if it’s “good.” They don’t edit for approval. They create because it feels good to create. They color the sky purple, give giraffes wings, and laugh when the lines go off the page. That’s what this piece is: the joy of not knowing better. The freedom we had before someone told us to be smaller, quieter, more acceptable. It’s postmodern in form, but primal in spirit—a reminder that the truest art, and the truest joy, often comes before we know how to explain it. This is what it looks like to be free.