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Mother Nature in Control oil on canvas with seed beads 16 x 16 Mother Nature controls the natural world. She nurtures, but she has the power to destroy. Mother Nature represents the interconnection of the living. My piece was inspired by this power and the fact that this power, throughout time, has been personified as being female. My Mother Nature in within the wings of a dove and she is wrapped in floral growth. She is within the darkness of night. She is powerful. She is with what is good. She is our story. Additional shipping/delivery charges will be handled between the artist and buyer after the purchase.    

She Spoke Up XXIII, Ayanna Elizabeth Johnson charcoal on arches paper 22.5 x 30 The ‘She Spoke Up’ series began as a reaction to the destructive and inflamed political and social climates. With the cascading revelations of the Me Too movement, centennial anniversary of the adoption of the 19th Amendment, surreal landscape of the Covid pandemic unfolding, and the incessant assault on democracy by our elected politicians, I chose to elevate the work and words of women who have spoken truth to power, pursued freedom and equity, and transformed the broader world. Collectively the series stands as a response to so much misogyny, ill intent, sexism and obstruction. Parrot fish, symbolizing adaptability, possibility and freedom, are potent symbols of creative potential, and the world’s intricacies and healing mechanisms. I integrated specific bird and natural imagery into each work in the series, finding their symbolism often uncannily mirrored the characteristics of each woman. The series reflects on the struggles and inequities of the past, underscores the fundamental challenges that still exist, highlights the transformative achievements of intelligent, courageous women, and suggests possible tomorrows. Additional shipping/delivery charges will be handled between the artist and buyer after the purchase.    

Linnea oil on Wood Panel 4 x 4 Portraits are immeasurably fascinating to me for their breadth of expression. They can articulate an expansive language of mood and atmosphere. They can convey intent, brashness or delicacy, anxiety or hesitation. A viewer can vicariously venture into the realm of a face to invent a story about a person. I wanted to make these portraits in a miniature scale, so to bring a viewer close in proximity to the individual moods of each woman. They are intimate in scale yet vigorously alive with thick paint. Each portrait is 4" X 4", oil on wood panel. Painted with tiny brushes, my portraits of these women nevertheless remain hugely present. They reflect an unshakable vitality immersed in atmospheric spaces. Additional shipping/delivery charges will be handled between the artist and buyer after the purchase.    

Now and Then acrylic with gold foil and modeling paste 18 x 22 The painting is a tribute to the importance of etiquette and self pride in the African-American Community. Debutante Balls and etiquette classes were started in the 1800s in Black Communities and continue to be an important part of the societal education of young women in the South. The girl on the left reflects modern times and the girl on the right reflects the same ideals in the 1800s. Additional shipping/delivery charges will be handled between the artist and buyer after the purchase.    

Stiff acrylic monoprint on paper 12 x 9 From a series of prints exploring the condition of our physical bodies, women’s physical selves, and what they mean to our lives. Moving through life means continually adjusting to changes in our children’s bodies, ourselves, and the aging bodies of our parents. The range of emotions evoked from all of these phases run the gamut, and speak to who we are, both to ourselves and to others. Additional shipping/delivery charges will be handled between the artist and buyer after the purchase.    

The Falconi Twins (Second Violin, Principal Viola) photo and pigmented beeswax combines on Kozo and wood panel 36 x 24 I create visual biographies honoring communities whose narratives have been marginalized, erased, or never recorded. "The Falconi Twins" portrays the resilience of two women from my childhood town who defied societal expectations in the 1970s. These women lived together, posed as twin sisters, and dressed identically to evade the scrutiny of the conservative community. In truth, they were a gay couple seeking refuge in a world that struggled to accept them for who they truly were. This portrait is a fusion of orphaned vintage photographs, my photographs, abstract drawings, and antique ephemera in subtle layers of pigmented beeswax on Kozo. I replicated a solitary figure to create a twin, etched intricate patterns and sgraffito onto the platform, balustrade, and figures to weave a narrative of secrets and shared experiences that remain unreadable to outsiders. This is a portrait of the power of love, resilience, and enduring bonds. Additional shipping/delivery charges will be handled between the artist and buyer after the purchase.    

To My Favorite G.I. collage, acrylic, charcoal on panel 24 x 24 During World War II, my father wrote more than 500 letters to my mother while fighting in the Pacific Theater. Two works from my Between the Lines series—"To My Favorite G.I." and "Left Behind"—focus on the women and girls whose lives unfolded in the shadow of those letters and events. "To My Favorite G.I." incorporates original correspondence and photographs my mother received from overseas. Her image became a lifeline—proof that love, beauty, and constancy still existed amid chaos. On the back of one small photograph she wrote, “To my favorite G.I.” The term “G.I.” was not anonymous to her; it was intimate. A coded declaration of belonging, resilience, and hope. This work honors the countless young women who stayed behind to wait, work, worry, and believe. "Left Behind" turns to the quieter, often overlooked experience of children shaped by war. Lorraine stands suspended between innocence and fear, forced into emotional adulthood by absence. Her story reflects generations of young girls whose lives were irrevocably altered by conflicts they did not choose. Together, these paintings bear witness to longing, faith, and endurance carried by the women and girls who held families, memories, and futures together while history unfolded around them. In creating these works, I sought to capture what could not always be spoken—the quiet strength, unresolved longing, and inner faith that sustained those at home. Through layered imagery, fragmented text, and partial concealment, the paintings mirror how memory, love, and absence coexist, shaping lives long after the war has ended. Additional shipping/delivery charges will be handled between the artist and buyer after the purchase.    

All Weather Mom, Harding Elementary School 2021 dry pastel on paper 15.75 x 10.75 Harding Elementary School in Albany CA is alive with great images right when school is out for the day. There was a slight break in the wether so that this Mom and her little kid could maybe get home dry but have some fun on the way. My pleasure to record this moment. Additional shipping/delivery charges will be handled between the artist and buyer after the purchase.    

Mother Nature's Fury acrylic, ink, gold leaf, on linen 36 x 24 Mother Nature's Fury represents the constant battle of nature vs human made disasters and climate change. She is constantly in survival mode against forest fires, drought, flooding, and deforestation. Mother Nature is the story of our natural world and the balance that is key to survival for all living creatures. Additional shipping/delivery charges will be handled between the artist and buyer after the purchase.