Isaiditoncebefore, butnowIfeelitevenmore_feelin'pretty,pretty,pretty, is a portrait of the artist and his lifelong friend, Archel, who is also a native of North Philadelphia and one of Cruz's earliest sitters. The subjects are nestled intimately on a couch, reinterpreting and playing with classical poses, folding in on each other with draped arms and layered hands.

Their helmets merge into one; the helmets evoke ideas of a halo but also serve as symbols of resilience, permanence, and future survival.

The two are dressed in hand-batiked fabrics, bathed in jewels, playing with cultural identifiers and royal and religious iconography.

The tableaus etched onto the upholstery of the couch appear at first as fluid, watery patterns, but up close, the panels reveal baroque scenes of the 18th century- grandly gesticulating figures and formally dressed dignitaries, suggesting a specific place and moment in time: the drafting and signing of the U.S. Constitution, which took place in Philadelphia in 1787.

The title is a campy play on the song "I Feel Pretty" from West Side Story.

The painting is part of the chosenfamily series, which explores the nonbiological bonds formed by queer people and the idea of family structures chosen out of mutual love and support to build hope and resilience. Drawing from John Singer Sargent's high society portraits and Francis Bacon's paintings in warped environments, the sitters are invited to pose in opposition to social norms as a form of resistance, play, and queering the act of posing. The portraits of this series speak of queer perspective and agency.