“I have been painting for around nine years, but I have been creating since 2004 when I was able to craft stained glass items such as windows, jewelry boxes, and other trinkets. When that was no longer allowed at the prison, I took up crochet, and then beadwork. But I have always loved nature and looking at paintings, so that led me to try making paintings. As a teen, I was in the Boy Scouts and went on many camping trips. Painting has been a way for me to stay in touch with that younger version of myself that feels unreachable at times.”