"Canopy" - began on the trails of Eagle Creek.

Some paintings begin with a color palette. Others begin with a place. Canopy began on the trails of Eagle Creek.

As the CEO and Co-Founder of Adverank.ai, my days are filled with technology, product strategy, artificial intelligence, customer meetings, and building a company. I love that world, but it rarely slows down. Every day is measured in emails, dashboards, video calls, product roadmaps, and decisions that never seem to stop.

When I need to reset, I head to Eagle Creek.

Just minutes from my home in Indianapolis, Eagle Creek Park has become my escape from the pace of technology. It is one of the nation's largest municipal parks, with thousands of acres of forests and water, miles of hiking trails, and an incredible diversity of wildlife. It is one of the few places where my attention naturally shifts away from screens and back toward the world around me.

Lately, something even more meaningful has happened.

My family has started joining me on those hikes.

What began as personal time has become shared time. We walk beneath towering trees, talk without distractions, laugh, and simply enjoy being together. Those moments have become some of the most meaningful parts of my week.

This painting is the result.

Canopy is an eight-foot by five-foot diptych created with layers of acrylic paint and epoxy resin. Rather than painting a literal landscape, I wanted to capture the feeling of standing beneath the forest canopy at Eagle Creek—the filtered light, endless layers of green, reflections on the water, and the quiet energy that surrounds you when you stop long enough to notice.

The epoxy resin creates a deep, glass-like surface that constantly changes as light moves across it, much like sunlight shifting through leaves overhead. Every viewing reveals something different, just as every hike through Eagle Creek offers a new experience.

The title, Canopy, represents more than the treetops.

A canopy protects. It filters light. It creates shelter while allowing life beneath it to flourish. That idea resonated with me as I painted. Eagle Creek has become a place that shields me from the constant noise of entrepreneurship, deadlines, and technology. It reminds me that creativity doesn't always come from working harder. Sometimes it comes from stepping outside, slowing down, and letting nature do the talking.

As someone who spends most of his professional life building technology, I find it fitting that some of my most meaningful artistic inspiration comes from disconnecting from it.

The greens in this painting represent growth. The layered textures reflect the complexity of nature. The flowing resin echoes the movement of water throughout the park. Together, they create an abstract expression of a place that has become deeply personal to me and my family.

• I hope viewers don't simply see a painting.

• I hope they feel what Eagle Creek feels like.

• A place to breathe.

• A place to reconnect.

• A place where the noise fades away and the important things become clear again.

For me, that's Canopy.

Medium: Acrylic and Epoxy Resin on Canvas

Size: 60 × 96 inches (5 × 8 feet) Diptych