In my painting, "And Me Without My Net," I've tried to capture a feeling that I think many artists can relate to. The self-portrait shows me submerged underwater, surrounded by a swirling school of colorful fish.

The fish aren't just fish; they represent the constant stream of ideas that flow through my mind. There's a certain serenity on my face, but my eyes tell a different story—a story of being overwhelmed, of trying to grasp too many creative concepts at once. The title itself, "And Me Without My Net," perfectly sums up this struggle. It's the feeling of being right in the middle of a beautiful, chaotic storm of inspiration but lacking the means to "catch" any of it.

For me, this painting is a way of exploring a paradox: having too many ideas can be just as difficult as having none at all. It's an internal look at the artistic process—celebrating the abundance of inspiration while also acknowledging the challenge of trying to translate those fleeting moments onto a canvas.