Volver, Volver

Finishing up a painting I couldn’t get done a while ago.

This painting is a tribute to a moment I shared years ago with Rose León, a woman whose quiet strength and beauty left a lasting impression on me. We worked together at the UNM-Taos library, and during that time, I saw in her a deep, soulful presence—graceful, grounded, and radiant with a sense of cultural pride.

The image was born from a photoshoot we did together out in the sagebrush behind my house. I wanted to capture not just her likeness, but her essence—uplifted, serene, proud. The sky and clouds, painted in broad strokes, frame her in a kind of quiet majesty.

This piece is as much about identity and resilience as it is about light and color. It’s a meditation on the intersection of cultures—Indigenous, Hispanic, and contemporary life in Northern New Mexico. I painted her looking slightly upward, eyes almost closed in sun-drenched peace, because that’s how I remember her: inwardly strong, outwardly luminous.