African Women III

During my husband's time as a pastor of a church in Garner, North Carolina, I had the opportunity to meet in church many African Christians living here in the United States. I found their culture, beauty, and faith inspiring. This painting is my third of African Women, and this time I exaggerated the color, direction and materials used. I chose bright and energetic colors to indicate action and strength. I used crayon because I was thinking of the wax used in the batiking process to make the Batik fabric so often found in African clothing. The painting is more about the movement of the whole unit rather than one individual woman, so the women's faces are not distinct. These women move together as a whole to accomplish the task of moving water to their village. Everyone helps. Even the little girl and the dog. Individualistic Americans, like me, could learn from tribal cultures like these where the "tribe" is more highly valued than the individual. What community are you a part of? Could you join one?