A kaleidoscopic depth of Black and Brown skin

Meet Taylor Smalls, a contemporary palette knife painter with a studio in the Bay Area.

Her work explores the vibrant depth of Black and Brown skin through layers of rich color, celebrating the endless nuances of melanated womxn. 

By amplifying and exaggerating the underlying tones, Taylor brings to life the beauty often overlooked in traditional depictions. Her work was recently featured at the THROUGHTLINE Art Exhibition, a multidisciplinary art show highlighting emerging black artists from various mediums. The central theme was a celebration of female identifying change agents of Oakland, CA. 

For more information and to collect your own art by Taylor, please click on the button below:

A portrait painting of a woman with closed eyes and a serene expression, painted in warm yellows and oranges, on a yellow background.
A smiling woman with curly hair, a nose piercing, and a ring on her hand, posing outdoors with a blurred leafy background.
A smiling woman with tattoos on her left arm, wearing a shiny dress, sitting on a chair in a dimly lit room.
A portrait painting of a person with a dark skin tone, detailed facial features, and curly hair with highlights. The background is plain and the painting emphasizes natural beauty.

Past Featured Artists

Rose and Tish Hill: It’s a Family Affair!

A mother and daughter whose art evokes the family bond and childhood nostalgia.

Recently, Rose has been collaborating with her daughter, Tish, making art together in her Sonoma art gallery. Tish creates a collection of mixed-media paintings of boys, almost as a complement to her mother’s “Little Colored Girls” series. These collective mother and daughter pieces are depicted from behind, with the boys and girls wearing unique and colorful fabric hats, ribbons, jackets, dresses and embellishments. Best of all, the hairstyles are rooted in the richness and beauty of black textures and designs.

I collected two of their pieces. They hang in my bedroom and bring me joy and warm memories of my youth. The girl reminds me of how my oldest sister always styled our hair for church, and the boy makes me think of my brother - the solo boy in the house.

For more information and to collect your own art by Rose and Tish, please click on the button below:

Two women smiling outdoors, one with black sunglasses and the other with braided hair, wearing a white shirt.
Mixed media artwork of a girl with dark skin and black hair styled in braids, wearing a pink floral dress with pearl embellishments, against a bright green background with abstract shapes and a tree, signed 'Rose Hill' in the bottom right corner.
Mixed media artwork of a young person with curly hair, seen from the back, standing in front of a vibrant green and yellow abstract background, wearing a red patterned hoodie and checkered pants, enclosed in a wooden box frame.