Melanin Memories
Zara K.
Acrylic paint on canvas
-
I wanted to dedicate this painting to my grandmother. I wanted to highlight a moment of my grandmother’s life in the 1970s. I found images in our family photo albums that she keeps in her home. Most of the original photographs that I used were in black and white. Observing the patterns and textures of the clothing in the pictures, I wondered what color some of the elements in the photos were. I started my paintings in black and white using the original photograph as a reference, and then went over the painting with a pigmented glaze, closely resembling what the colors were in person (with the help of my grandmother’s memory) to bring life and color into the original black and white image.
-
Creativity to me means to express yourself in your own imaginative way and doing what you truly love passionately. It’s about bringing something original into the world, exploring new ideas in ways that let your imagination be free. It’s also a beautiful way to leave your mark on the world.
