Like Me

Every so often, besides the selling of work, artists talks, interviews, articles, and great reviews, I receive those potent rays of light that hit my soul just right. These instances underscore the why of the what that I do. On yesterday I received a message on Instagram from an art teacher. She shared the art and work description of one of her students. Almost equally impressive and inspiring was the fact that she, the teacher, included me in the canon alongside artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kara Walker, Kehinde Wiley, and Jacob Lawrence, to name a few. This is the student’s expression regarding the project…

Medium: Acrylic paint on canvas

Title of Piece: Oshun

“Intention: I was inspired by Jahni Moore’s artwork. I wanted to paint a black woman similar to his style. He painted realistically. That is why I focused on the lighting and contour of her skin like in his painting “E Pluribus Unum”. His shadows were very dark and contrasted well with the lighter parts of the painting. My favorite color is blue so I wanted to incorporate a lot. I even tried to give her a cooler skin tone to compliment the blue. The meaning of my painting is a black woman who is confident, beautiful, and powerful, like me.”

Needless to say, I was touched, moved to continue, and all that good stuff. A timely reminder to never negate the power of inclusion; the importance of people being able to see themselves included in the acceptable and respected walks of life. It goes a long way towards self image perception, reception, and emotional health. That which we do and do unapologetically in terms of our “work” is of immense value. It’s far more important than we realize sometimes. Let us keep doing what we do with a level of imposed impunity. You never know who you will inspire or be inspired by. I know there’s someone believing in you, rooting for you, needing you to keep doing what you do. There are people who need to see that, like me.