[BLACK] Lives Matter, 2020

2020 wasn't pretty for anyone. It felt like a smearing of chaos and uncertainty, especially for the Black community. I remember watching the news updates with knots in my stomach - turning it off didn't make them go away. I felt like I wanted to say something - but when I opened my mouth to speak, nothing would come out. It's like I was choking on my own voice.
 
So, I painted - my way of speaking when words fail me. When I got to the canvas, I didn't know where to start. So, I just started. I squirted some paint here and there, and smeared it all around - red and black, mostly - like the images I kept seeing in my head.
 
[BLACK] Lives Matter isn't a beautiful piece in the way we typicaly think of beauty. It's not a technical masterpiece. It has a beauty of it's own though. An authenicity that reflects the raw emotion of an unstable time and heart - a mix of heartbreak, rage, fear, and determination. Though battered and bruised, it lifts its voice, saying, "You can't break me."