While taking a studio art class in high school, CACTO worked on an oil painting. He created a self-portrait depicting himself as a Soundcloud rapper, portraying his alter ego. This alter ego was inspired by Uzi and Yachty, and the character's name was "Young Cacto." The face-tatted figure wore stylish oversized hoodies, skinny jeans, and gold chains. As he worked on the character, it evolved into a digital series of album covers titled "Pain and Paintings" Vol.1 + 2. Throughout the series, CACTO added more face tattoos, which served as an excuse to write more. "I started to realize I look the way I'm drawing my character." Initially, it was a separate entity but became more connected to him over time.
His painting Rage led to the defining moment. When describing his process for the emotionally charged piece, he takes us back to the cause."I was having a really shitty day and didn't want to talk to anyone. Then I had this blank canvas sitting there. So I went to the back of the house and started spray painting and drawing. The dead expression on the character's face symbolized how I felt. I just had a lot that was going on in my head." The affirmations on this character's face solidified that this was meant for himself. "I can look at this and feel good. This was the first painting with a lot of intention and accurately expressed my emotions." He added, "I'm an emotional person and usually bury my emotions, but 'Rage' was my emotional release. I realized what art means to me, as my release." CACTO proudly refers to this painting as the forefather of his style now.
