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.
  • Reaching Transcendence (2018)
    Reaching Transcendence (2018)
    This piece is featured on page 10 of 'Artists of Maryland: Visual Art,' a printed book curated by Yumi Hogan. A mixed media--acrylic paint, vintage copy of 'Crime and Punishment' by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and canvas--project which reflects the spiritual, physical and psychological transformation I experienced in Fall of 2018 before graduating college. This piece incorporates both my love of the written word and visual arts by layering hand cut pieces of choice passages from 'Crime and Punishment,' my favorite novel, with painstakingly hand painted geometric shapes and pointillistic swathes of color. The colorful night bird, armed with knowledge and experience, sweeps over the night sky and brings life to what was formerly barren with the touch of her wings. Waves of sound sweep back against her but she presses on.
  • Mary(d), Mother(m), Myself(t) (2017)
    Mary(d), Mother(m), Myself(t) (2017)
    A play on Catholic imagery of the Mary/Mother archetype incorporating aspects of the ancient religion of the Goddess. On the left, a magnolia flower blooms while simultaneously preparing to drop older, darker petals. On the right, a sunflower is almost finished growing its full crown of petals to symbolize wealth, strength, longevity and ancestral connection. The piece is designed to appear in motion and evoke notions of growth, evolution and the legends of Fatima or Mary apparitions (2017). This piece is the beginning of what I am now calling my Goddess paintings period; a series of paintings in which I feel that I am expressing different forms of the Goddess.

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About Jahia

Baltimore City  

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.

Jump to a project:

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.
  • 'Mary(d), Mother(m), Myself(t)'
    'Mary(d), Mother(m), Myself(t)'

    • 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).
    • Fall Equinox at The Land Celebration
      Fall Equinox at The Land Celebration
      I painted this on the porch of a small cabin during the Fall Equinox celebration of a small spiritual group I used to belong to in Virginia. I gifted it to the owners of the land as a token of my thanks for the weekend's program to hang in the Lodge. Acrylic on canvas (2016).
    • Littlefoot
      Littlefoot
      This painting was inspired by a one-legged male peacock I saw at a pumpkin patch in the fall of 2016. He was hobbling about with all of his feathers displayed proudly and I was inspired by his strength and courage. Acrylic on canvas (2016).
    • SpaceScape
      SpaceScape
      A three-dimensional canvas I used to create an immersive picture of space using references from the Hubble Space Telescope Acrylic on canvas (2016).
    • SpaceScape close up (Venus)
      SpaceScape close up (Venus)
    • Spacescape close up (nebula)
      Spacescape close up (nebula)
    • unnamed.jpg
      unnamed.jpg
      Acrylic on basswood (2018).
    • The Horned One
      The Horned One
      A visitor at the window. Acrylic on canvas (2017).
    • Yasenka, Jaguar Spirit
      Yasenka, Jaguar Spirit
      This portrait of my cat was modelled both off of her body position and off of Mexica (azteca) jaguar statues I saw in Mexico. Acrylic on paper (2018).
    •

    • 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.
    • My Vision for 2020
      My Vision for 2020
    •

    • 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).
    • Oma
      Oma
    •

    • 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
    • Portals-5.jpg
      Portals-5.jpg
    • Portals-178.jpg
      Portals-178.jpg
    • Portals-48.jpg
      Portals-48.jpg
    • Portals-160.jpg
      Portals-160.jpg
    • Portals-18.jpg
      Portals-18.jpg
    • Portals-9.jpg
      Portals-9.jpg
    •