My work often reflects upon conservative family dynamics and the challenges of overcoming biases, customs, and religious beliefs that complicated my experience of coming out as a gay Latino man in the 1990s. After my HIV+ diagnosis in 2012, my paintings became zones to escape from relentless mental anguish and crippling anxiety. I attempt to root myself in moments during which anxiety is absent and there is a sense of peace and safety, as well as narratives and portraits that celebrate these instances of quotidian intimacy and natural freedom.