I developed a distinct painting style while in art college. It consisted of using instructional manuals as inspiration and painting unidentifiable figures with flat, desaturated colors to convey clever yet heartfelt ideas and emotions. I created paintings in this style for several years after graduating that people grew to know me by. I am still proud of the work that I made at this time in my life, although I can't help but now look at these paintings and label them as "old."

"Days of Our Wives," acrylic on wood panel, 2004.

Chronologically speaking, these paintings are legitimately older within my catalogue of works, but there seems to be some inherent baggage that comes with the word "old" that causes artists to also devalue their own works. At least I'm guilty of that. But I was reminded this past week that an artist's audience is not necessarily concerned at all with when an artwork was made but rather, whether they connect with that piece or not. In other words, I was reminded that art is timeless.

So what happened? Someone who had collected two of my prints from over 15 years ago, tracked me down on social media and asked if they could order two more copies of my older prints. They even shared a photo of the prints they currently owned, hanging on their wall. I was floored! Although I do not stock these on my website anymore, I was able to uncover a few copies from my archives that fit their request. Happy customer!

"Mind Block," acrylic on wood panel, 2008.

I was truly touched by this experience and it helped me view my older work as not any less valuable than the work I'm doing now. I may have moved onto a new art style, but it was a nice reminder that paintings I made earlier in my life are still relevant and are still being enjoyed by people the world over. It's also rewarding to know that the work I've been doing as an independent artist and painter for over two decades now is not only meaningful, but memorable. It's the highest compliment an artist can hear.