However, in talking to Manolo, it is evident that it was his military service, more than anything else, that created within him a deep desire to weaponize art in a rebelling against the memories of war. Manolo finished basic training back in June of 2001. After the events of 9/11, he spent the next six years serving in the Army and an additional five years as a subcontractor in the Middle East. When I asked him about the theme of his artwork, he tells me that he is compelled to create with an overwhelming pursuit of female power and energy. He states, “I'm over all the masculine energy that I've lived and experienced in the past. And you know, I have nothing against it, but I'm just trying to create from a different perspective.” Indeed, the vast majority of his pieces are female-centric. While some might perceive his depictions of women as stemming from the male viewpoint, Manolo calmly insists his work seeks to affirm female power and his appreciation of it. While he admits that he is still trying to explore what exactly that means, he is consistently working towards knowledge and understanding. He shares that he, too, is trying to find a balance of male and female cosmic energy within his own person. “I never learned that side of myself in that world,” he says. It wasn’t until the forced solitude of the pandemic that Manolo was afforded the mental and emotional clarity to explore unrevealed dimensions of himself through his craft.