Portrait of Oshun 2019

Harmonia Rosales painted "Portrait of Oshun" with oil on canvas, conjuring a divine presence with striking clarity. I love the way Rosales builds up the figure with thin layers of paint, allowing the texture of the canvas to peek through, giving the skin a luminous quality. Those splatters of gold on Oshun’s face – they feel less like blemishes and more like constellations, mapping a personal cosmology. The way the sunflowers and peacock feathers frame her face, it's like she’s emerging from a dream, or maybe inviting us into one. You know, looking at this, I’m reminded of Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits, where the personal and the symbolic blend, both artists creating their own visual language to explore identity. It’s a gentle reminder that art is not about answers, but about the questions we dare to ask.