Work samples

  • littlefoot.jpg
    littlefoot.jpg
    Inspired by a one-footed peacock I met at a local farm. The peacock is the animal of Oshun, the orisha of love, sex and beauty among other things.

About Jahia

I paint from the spirit. 

Proud to have my painting 'Reaching Transcendence' featured in First Lady Yumi Hogan's 2021 publication, Visual Artists of Maryland. Peace and Love.

All pieces are for sale unless otherwise noted.

Goddess Paintings

I am in the second year of a series of paintings; each which demonstrates a different aspect of the Goddess through one or more world religions or events. I am currently working on a piece which juxtaposes the Christian crucifixion motif with the European and North American witch trials/witch burnings of the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries.

This process is not only creative but is also reflective. I have been not only painting but reading Greek, Egyptian and Hindu mythology, attending Buddhist temple meetings and collecting literature of varied religions in order to discover where the feminine aspects of these religions intersect and reveal the ancient religion of the Goddess lying within. 

These paintings are so far all painted on a background of the same cerulean blue as several of the tarot cards in the Rider-Waite tarot deck.
  • unnamed.jpg
    unnamed.jpg
    A painting in progress which represents the Goddess through the combination physical aspects of the feminine Buddhas, Hindu goddesses, Demeter, Yemonja the water orisha and the three Greek fates (2019). Acrylic on canvas.

Land and Animals, Real and Imagined

These landscapes, painted for the most part in my very active period between 2016-2017, focus around themes of nature and animal spirits. I spent a great deal of time incoporating realistic references (landscapes or animals) with surrealist color choices and patterns.
  • The First Morning
    The First Morning
    Acrylic on canvas (2016).

Collages

I love collage. The creation of one requires me to be in a certain mood; one in which the action of my hands is exact and my mind is completely focused on the task at hand. I therefore create collages rarely but lovingly.
  • For My Grandparents
    For My Grandparents
    A mixed media piece on paper in which I explore the personal histories of my paternal grandparents.

Realism

These acrylic on canvas paintings are my attempts in realistic portraiture. The most recent 'Unnamed' was created as the project in an art class I took at Arte Nativo Studio in Guerrero, Mexico in Spring 2019. 
  • unnamed.jpg
    unnamed.jpg
    Acrylic on canvas (2019).

Portals Exhibition (2017)

This limited selection of photos comes a larger body of photographs from the opening night of my first solo exhibition entitled 'Portals.' 'Portals' debuted on November 17th, 2017 at the iconic yet now-shuttered NuBohemia Black-owned gallery and coffeehouse on West Biddle Street. The paintings featured in the exhibit were designed as doors, which invited viewers to enter into a new state of being and mind. Blank journals were placed at the foot of every painting, and attendees filled the journals with their reflection on where each piece had taken them. For this exhibit, I also designed and installed an original installation of blue lights in the shape which classicly invokes a portal, entrypoint, or gateway to another world: the classic spiral. The untitled art installation remained in permanence at the gallery until it's closing in summer of 2018.

Many thanks to Jay Rags for giving a young artist her first exhibition space!
  • Portals-1_preview.jpeg
    Portals-1_preview.jpeg