Being born in DC and raised in Georgia, the combination of cultures, energies, and people I met in my childhood going into being a teenager truly shaped my personality and being today. The setting of this painting takes place in Southeast DC in Marshall Heights where I spent my early childhood. That was until I moved to Lithonia, Georgia near Stone Mountain and spent up to 10 years in Georgia before moving to Virginia for high school. The car culture in Atlanta spread way beyond the perimeter of the city with old-school flashy Cadillacs and hydraulics and speakers installed on every car. The culture in Atlanta and DC are both proud and unashamed, both cities will rep their city regardless of the circumstance. And in hindsight being surrounded by both of those cultures is what made me, and so Hometown is homage to both of those environments as well as the name “Lemon Pepper Mumbo Sauce” which ties both of them together.