This is an acrylic collage of former First Lady Michelle Obama. She is one of the inspiring woman of color I chose to paint for my Women of Color project in February 2022.

After researching, I begin with a pencil drawing that serves as a structure for all my work. I have a large collection of acrylic hand-painted papers and spend some time each month painting different blends of colors. Tracing paper is used for the basic shapes and a glue stick temporarily holds it in place. Elmer’s glue is used to permanently adhere the shapes to my gessoed hardboard. The process continues until all the features and hair are glued and a background color is chosen. I edit and change shapes as I work and critique it with a mat during the process, making necessary changes.