“Shalom”
This painting is named after the Hebrew word which is painted on the left-hand side of the canvas - “Shalom” means Peace. I used colors that made me happy at the time, I love this blue. Blue is a very spiritual color, and purple means royalty.
“Sisters”
This was one of my first acrylic paintings I did as a Junior in High School. I love the bond this shows between the two African sisters. If you look closely, the one on the left is more innocent looking, like she depends on her sister on the right. Her sister, the one on the right, looks like she has had the burden of taking care of her younger sibling which happens a lot in Africa today.
“Moonlight”
My favorite part about this painting is the butterfly. I used bold colors on the butterfly and moon and made the rest of the painting shadowed by the moonlight--this is a sultry piece.
“Missing You”
I painted this shortly after 9-11 happened. What a tragic event in our American History. Those images of the people and their families, and the destruction that came from it all will never leave our hearts and minds. But one thing that a tragedy or war always does is bring people closer together and closer to God. This woman is praying for her loved one who is off to war or maybe for someone she has lost--Look in between her fingers, and you will see a pair of dog tags.
“Un Cantico”
This woman is in her solitude, practicing her song she just wrote while messing around on the guitar—she loves just escaping to a place of creativity, and getting her favorite guitar out to play just “A little song” which is what “Un Cantico” means in Spanish.
“Bright Summer”
I LOVE the color yellow. This painting just makes me happy—reminding me of waking up in the morning on vacation in a tropical location, where the sunshine comes early in the day. Summer is my favorite season of the year. This woman has a white lily in her hair—symbolizing beauty and splendor.
“Live For You, Die to Me”
This is a painting all about dying to self and living for others. It is a depiction of Jesus’s feet, after the nails have been pulled out and He is still on the cross and the blood is trickling down. I used real dried roses and the stems and wooden sticks from a tree for a 3-D effect to spell out the words “Live for You, Die to Me”. (roses symbolize Christ and His church, courtship, romance) If you look closely at the O in the word “For” you will see that it is shaped as a thorned crown, like the one that was placed upon His head before the crucifixtion.
“Freedom”
This woman is totally into the moment, swinging her hair, maybe dancing by herself in the room while no one’s watching. Her cross is a symbol of her faith. No bondage here, she is “Freedom”.
“Happy African Breeze”
I found a picture of this woman who was so happy, in the middle of the breeze in Africa, so I wanted to capture the same feeling within this painting. I used my blue/green color I love so much and also mixed it with glitter on her cloth that she has draped around her. A smile moves from her mouth to her eyes – a smile is contagious and laughter is good for the soul.
“Lonely”
This drawing was done in oil pastel pencils. This woman’s eyes say everything. She is very lonely, missing her family—tragedy has happened. Her pain cuts so deep like a knife, nothing you could say can ease her troubles. I drew her in the moment, but joy does come in the morning. If you look closely to the right of her shoulder I etched markings into the pastels to make feathers that are in her hair, which is hidden by the scarf wrapped around her head.
“Consuming Fire”
This painting was missing something for months until I painted the red-orange light coming from the heavens onto the girl who is so peaceful. It’s like a light coming through the darkness, hitting her hair and skin, consuming her into this spiritual fire of blessing.
“Egyptian Woman”
The most interesting part about this piece for me is the contrast of the darker skin and the small and bright multi-colored dots to make the metal-like headdress for her—that particular dot technique was something I thought up in the moment and it took a lot of time to create.
“Wrinkles are Beautiful”
I wish this woman was my Grandma. Maybe since I’m adopted, I have painted an ancestor, because I feel bonded to her. She looks so sweet with the little turn up of her mouth, a slight smile. Like the painting “Lifetime Eyes” these wrinkles were so labor intensive to paint—but it is so fitting to me that they took so long to paint—many wrinkles for the many years of life. I absolutely love looking at them now that they are finished! They are beautiful!
“Lifetime Eyes”
I love this Grandpa. His suspenders and Hat are so cute! If you look through his eyes, you can see that he has traveled a long and hard road of life. He has so much to tell within his eyes. And I love his wrinkles.
“Caliente”
I loved working on this piece. Lots of bold colors, fabric for her top, ribbon on her orange shawl coat around her, yellow ribbons hanging from the top of her dress, red beads as a belt around her waste, flowers in her hair and rhinestones for her jewelry. This is spicy!
“The Kiss”
A charcoal drawing I got awards for in High School. I love this drawing—it is so passionate and so full of love, just bursting out of the page! When I see this, I hear the words “I am my lover and his desire is for me”.
“Red Passion”
This painting is all about the red dress. A woman may love to wear a red dress during Valentine’s Day—I say why wait until then?! I love a red dress, red flower in the hair and some pumps. Muy bonita.!
“Queen”
I love this painting, bold colors. This painting shows strength, determination, and this woman is upright in authority. The color red means warfare, sacrifice, strong emotion. Green is life and Purple is royalty. She is a true African “Queen”
“Bond”
A mother’s bond with her baby, while breast feeding, is so strong. This woman in Africa is sitting outside somewhere in a gathering with lots of other woman. Her face tells it all—her life has not been easy, but she will nourish this baby as long as she possibly can. She will survive, and by her love and protection, her daughter will feel safe.
“Eternity”
I give to you my heart, my soul, my everything, are the words painted around this canvas. It is symbolizing two people becoming one flesh with each other and with God. They are together bound forever, through eternity. I use brown and gold, to make it look like a sculpture.
“Bring the Little Children”
This painting symbolizes the child-like innocence and heart towards God and life that we all should have. The little baby is up in the clouds and sky symbolizing the heavens, and the scripture verse reads “Let the Little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Luke 18:16
