'Nostalgic Youth' Original 36 x 12 mixed media canvas

Titled 'Nostalgic Youth'
So young and reckless,
Perhaps a bit naive,
Yet dreams and joys poured like a stream.
Chasing mermaids, racing in tag,
Pedaling bikes till dusk called us home.
Life felt weightless, free of worry.
Take me back to those carefree days.
Part of 'Phases'
Phases is my love letter to women...seven paintings that hold every messy, beautiful bit of us. 
Each one is a snapshot of the lives we lead, the bodies we carry, and the stories we’re rewriting. 
Its not about being perfect. 
It’s about the real stuff—scars from our childhood, falling apart as adults, the weight of society telling us to shrink or smile, the insecurities we’ve wrestled, and the dreams we’re still chasing.
 It’s for every woman who’s felt the push and pull of what we’re “supposed” to be and decided to show up as herself anyway.

These women...they’re us. 
The stretch marks of motherhood and the grit of starting over. 
Carrying the quiet scars of “not enough” but standing tall. 
There’s a girl who grew up too fast, a woman who’s done apologizing, and one who’s blooming where she was told she couldn’t.
 Together, they’re the phases we live—youth’s wild hopes, the teenage tangle, the adult battles, the wants we buried, the needs we’re claiming now. 
They’re healing in paint, breaking the old patterns we inherited—because trauma doesn’t get the last word.
Each piece is a call to look at your own scars, your own life, and say, “I’m still here, and I’m whole.” From the girl who hid to the woman who’s free, Phases is about owning every mark, every moment, and growing through it all. Want to bring one of these stories home? They’re waiting for you.
Mixed media 16 x 20 canvas.
Acrylics, acrylic inks, alcohol inks, spray paint, gold foil, and oil.