“Melancholy” African American portraits And we will be transformed

And we will be transformed or die trying

including surviving the brutal racial culture following Reconstruction and the onset of Jim Crow

We have learned over time to thrive through challenges and that will not soon change

while important

“Melancholy” African American portraits And we will be transformed18x24 oil on canvas. I have always been fascinated by how ballerinas can contort their bodies in ways that seem to defy muscle and bone. Art meets rigorous discipline and skill. The narrative literally resides in the body and ballerinas literally take us on a journey via their performance. I tried to capture this sentiment with pallet knife and oil paint on this canvas.