Awareness

When I painted this portrait, I was thinking about Taos. Not just the place, but the feeling of it. There’s something about living here that’s hard to explain unless you’ve felt it: the weight of history in the mountains, the silence between the trees, the blend of cultures that doesn’t always make sense but somehow feels right.

I wanted to paint a woman who could carry all of that gracefully, honestly. Her gaze isn’t passive. She looks at you like she knows where she comes from, like she’s seen the land change and still stands firm in who she is. The blanket she wears isn’t just for warmth; it’s memory. It’s story. It’s tradition layered with individual strength.

The background is intentionally loose like Taos itself, a little blurred around the edges, always shifting with the light. I wasn’t interested in photographic precision. I wanted to let the colors and brushstrokes echo the way this place feels when the sun hits it just right when you’re walking through shadow and sagebrush, thinking about the people who came before you, the ones still here, and the ones trying to find their way.

This painting is about that quiet mix: of cultures, of identity, of old and new. It’s about Taos as I experience it is slightly isolated, deeply soulful, and filled with stories that still haven’t been fully told.