My work honors my Mexican heritage, specifically as a first generation Mexican American. This series has two components. The first part uses family snapshots taken in México as its source material. I celebrate what everyday life is like back home by immortalizing these photographs and the memories they contain in oil paint. The second part consists of paintings focusing on hands with objects that I keep with me here in the U.S. from my motherland. I produce my paintings at a small scale to communicate the sense of intimacy I feel towards these images and objects. I also want to draw the viewer in close to appreciate the meticulously painted surfaces. This series has been inspired by a lifetime of striving to embrace my ancestral heritage while being surrounded by a different culture. To those unfamiliar with Mexican culture, these works will carry notes of the sublime. For others, these works will bring comfort in recognizing their culture. At its core, these paintings help me cherish my own ethnic identity, but I also invite the audience to explore, understand, and appreciate my culture.