My paintings explore re-imagined nostalgia and self-help as a distraction from the everyday. These narrative depictions of new or recreated experiences are salves for my subjects’ self-loathing, fear, and boredom. My process oscillates between predetermined and intuitive painting. Each approach takes its turn as remedy and provoker, altering the power dynamic between my compositions and myself. The commonality between approaches manifests in one shared goal: like the excitement of recalling a memory or making a new discovery, in each piece I aim to conjure a moment of sanctuary. This attempt at both re-creation and starting over explores the process of anticipation, let-down, and renewal, all of which address the practice of painting itself.