My First Car

2024
Mixed Media on Canvas
28 × 30 in

My First Car celebrates one of those small childhood moments that somehow stays with us forever—the excitement of getting a brand-new toy car.

There was something special about holding it for the first time, studying every detail, imagining its speed, and deciding where it would take you. In a child’s hands, it was never simply a toy. It could become a race car, a dream car, or the beginning of an entire adventure created on the floor of a bedroom.

The reference to Hot Wheels taps into a shared memory. For so many of us, these little cars were objects of genuine excitement and affection. We collected them, raced them, traded them, and had favorites that somehow felt more valuable than all the others.

My First Car is about the purity of that feeling—the ability to receive something so small and experience it as something enormous. It celebrates a time when joy didn't have to be complicated to feel complete.