I created this portrait during a quiet night in my studio, surrounded by unfinished canvases and the hum of low jazz. What started as a simple grayscale sketch slowly transformed into something more personal—a meditation on spirit, memory, and protection.
The blue you see here isn’t just any blue—it’s haint blue, a color deeply rooted in African and Gullah Geechee tradition. Enslaved Africans in the American South used this shade to paint doorways, ceilings, and window frames, believing it would ward off “haints”—restless spirits that wandered the earth. The color, a pale mix of indigo and sky, symbolized both safety and passage—a bridge between the physical and the spiritual.
As I painted, I thought about what it means to protect the soul in today’s world—to shield our inner selves from chaos, doubt, and fear. Each brushstroke of haint blue became an act of grounding and reflection, a quiet prayer for clarity.
The unfinished edges and muted background speak to how identity never fully resolves—it shifts, it questions, it protects itself. This piece isn’t just a portrait of a face; it’s a conversation between history, self, and spirit.
