“The Beast that Persists” is an allegorical painting that personifies the United States as a warped and mangled beast, tangled in its own creation. What began as a map of the country has morphed into an animal-like figure, resembling a cow caught in a bind, ensnared on a fence. The stars and stripes have become binds and restraints, with bruises and lacerations in red, white, and blue, reflecting a tense and painful struggle—Here, I am confronting (grappling with) the deep-rooted conflicts that continue to shape and fracture our nation. “What’s red, white and blue(s) all over?!”