Amy Sherald is a free spirited Goddess, who captures the pure brilliance of one of our favorite sayings, “Art Is Life & Life Is Art”. She lives the way she paints, with excellence and celebration of her roots, both culturally and intellectually. Born in Columbus, GA and currently residing in Baltimore, Sherald received her MFA in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art (2004) and her BA in Painting at Clark-Atlanta University (1997) in addition to being an International Artist-in-Residence in Portobelo, Panama via Spelman College (1997).  The first woman to win Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition grand prize, this 👑QUEEN👑 is not new to the Art of excellence, but she is undoubtedly true to this!

Sherald’s exhibitions and accomplishments appear to be about as long as it has taken to witness a black human being to paint The First Lady of The United States Of America (FLOTUS), so perhaps it’s only right that she, in fact, is the first black woman to paint the official portrait of none other than FLOTUS Michelle Obama for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery. And as much as an honor and supreme accomplishment the aforementioned is, please do your due diligence on Miss Amy Sherald and discover some of her other beautiful works and magical achievements. I have most certainly included some of my favorite works for your enjoyment. However, more than her works, the resilient woman of faith that Sherald embodies is truly inspiring. A woman with a fearless spirit, she succumbs to nothing. “My father wanted me to be a dentist like him, or any doctor, really,” Sherald told Baltimore magazine. “There was this attitude of, ‘The civil rights movement was not about you being an artist.’ However, painting was Sherald’s safe haven and true calling so she followed her heART and realized the vision of excellence that burned within her soul all along.

Whether rising above the parental pressures of wanting her to select a more traditional career or rising above the heart wrenching news received after graduating in 2004 that her heart was operating at first 18% and eventually 4%, Sherald overcomes any challenge life deals her with courage and conviction. And that, along with her strikingly minimalistic and poetic paintings, is why she gets the heART of Cool STAMP!

Quote came from here.

💜Love & Light☀,
CRISTEN M. MILLS