Affirm Black Women Portrait Series: Marsha P. Johnson
“I may be crazy but that don’t make me wrong.” - Marsha P. Johnson
Marsha P. (Pay it no mind.) Johnson was a transgender woman and LGBTQ activist credited for being an instigator in the Stonewall Uprising of 1969. Later she cofounded STAR with Sylvia Rivera to provide housing to homeless transgender youth in New York City.
This quote resonates with me personally as a person with a mental illness because it can be a fight to be taken seriously - to be listened to. Marsha P. Johnson also fought a lifelong battle with depression and this quote is a reminder that even when our minds and bodies behave imperfectly we have legitimate feelings and insight.
View the complete Affirm Black Women portrait series here
Excited to announce a collaboration with the Portland Stamp Company to create a series of limited edition artist stamps!
“For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.” - Amanda Gorman
Going epic for this next portrait. At 36” x 48” it’ll be my largest portrait painting to date.
“White folks. When racism happens in public - YOUR SILENCE IS VIOLENCE.” - Leslie Mac
“For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.” - Amanda Gorman
Sneak peek at a new portrait. This will be painted in acrylic on a smooth gessoed wood panel. Acrylic is still a relatively new medium for me and it feels like turning my brain inside out.
“Nobody would bother to beat you down if you were not a threat.” - Cicely Tyson
“We cannot afford to be tired or cynical. The cost is too great to let someone else write our story or erase our progress.” - Stacey Abrams
I’m more comfortable behind the brush or camera rather than the subject but my good friend, fellow artist, and remote coworker Alex Kujawa challenged me to post an #ArtVSartist.
Introducing the Phenomenal Black Women Memory Matching Game! Your favorite portraits and inspirational quotes are now an interactive educational card game.
“…I have dedicated my career to ensuring that the words engraved on the front of the Supreme Court building— ‘Equal Justice Under Law’—are a reality and not just an ideal.” — Ketanji Brown Jackson