Gay Blog - Gallery

Walking into my own gallery for the first time was terrifying. Because for thirty years, someone else had been curating the show. My parents hung the family portraits. My teachers installed the dioramas of “normal” futures. The church mounted a giant, gilded painting of a man burning in a lake of fire, labeled Consequences .

I kept my own work in a closet. Sketches on napkins. Poems written in the notes app at 2 a.m. Polaroids of boys I was too scared to kiss. Crumpled, hidden, gathering dust. gallery gay blog

Further in, the room opens up. This is the Joy Wing . Walking into my own gallery for the first

Next to it hangs The Year I Lost My Family . It’s a large, dark piece. Almost abstract. Splatters of navy and charcoal. In the corner, tiny figures walk away, their backs turned. For a long time, I wanted to take this painting down. Burn it. But I’ve learned that the darkest paintings make the bright ones brighter. They add depth. They tell the truth. The gallery isn’t a highlight reel. It’s a whole life. My teachers installed the dioramas of “normal” futures

At the very back of the gallery, in a small, softly lit room, is the piece I’m still working on. It’s called The Future . There’s no image yet. Just a blank, primed canvas. Sometimes I stare at it for hours. Some days I want to paint a marriage license. Some days, a photograph of a child with my eyes and his smile. Other days, just a door—open, with light pouring through.