16” x 20” acrylic on canvas. Canvas is 100% cotton duck with an acrylic titanium triple primer.

What is the story behind this painting?

In our household we went through periods of having cable service. In the 90s, cable TV was a godsend against the boredom and nonsense of regular television channels. While my siblings mainly went for TV Land, MTV, and VH1, I went for Nickelodeon. I couldn’t get enough of the variety programming: the cartoons like “Rugrats” and “Rocco’s Modern Life”; the sitcoms such as “Clarissa Explains it All”; the game shows like “Legends of the Hidden Temple,” “Double Dare,” and “Wild and Crazy Kids.” I used to daydream about running away to Orlando, Florida and becoming a contestant on one of their game shows. I wanted to slide through their whipped cream slides or get slimed in one of their physical challenges. I don’t know what was better, doing the physical challenges or winning all the Casio and Yamaha prizes. I never did get to participate as a contestant in the Nickelodeon game shows. The bright Nickelodeon logo is what I remember the most from all those years of watching their programs. I incorporated my memory of that intense orange graphic, and the neon green slime onto my canvas.