This painting is a portrait of a friend, but more than that, it’s a record of a moment when everything changed and we chose to move anyway.
In 2019, he called me with an idea for a show, nothing formal. Then the world paused. When the pandemic hit, the call came again, this time with urgency. Boston galleries were empty, and there was an open invitation: anyone willing to step into the city could claim space.
We showed up.
Masks on, uncertainty everywhere, we moved through the city asking for walls, finding places that would take us in. It wasn’t about permission, it was about presence. One gallery turned into another, and momentum built in a time when everything else stood still.
Eventually, that movement caught attention. What started as a simple call between friends led to recognition from Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and a moment captured by the The Boston Globe.
This painting holds all of that. The risk, the persistence, the friendship, and the belief that showing up matters. It’s not just about the person depicted, but about what can happen when you say yes, even when the world is telling you to stay still.
