Q&A with Salkis Re

        My first 2019 post this year is with Salkis Re; a brilliant artist combining the painting of black             

women/soulful eyes with heart touching poems. 

1. Who are you and what do you do?  

I am an ARTIST, POET and SPIRITUAL HEALER living in Southern California presently...

2. Do you paint first and think of a poem or do you write a poem once you finish the painting?

It depends. Sometimes while I'm painting, verses come to me and then I'll stop painting to write it down before I forget. At other times, the words come to me when I look at a completed art piece. 

3. Are all your poems a reflection on your life experience? 

For the most part, but I do get inspiration from spiritual coaching sessions with my clients. I'll recall something they said that really touched me and I will write about it..

4. The beautiful girls in your paintings have deep expressive eyes. Is there a central main theme? 

Well the eyes are where all the emotions of the heart can be expressed. 

I prefer big doe-like eyes in my work because they convey "delicate" and "innocence" to me.

It's important that my girls are seen as delicate because its not a character trait synonymous with black women unfortunately...

5. What does your art express about you?

It expresses the pure parts of me. By pure I mean that its not trying to be anything. It is what it is: no pretense, no trying to look sexy to get attention, no trying to be anything to win people over like the so-called adult part of me habitually does..

         6. If you could have a billboard with anything on it, what would you say? 

Your Soul Isn't Fully Form When You Are Born. It Grows As You Grow Through Emotional  Experiences.

7. Of all your paintings, what’s your favourite? 

I've tried to pick a favorite and I honestly do not have one. It's funny though, cause I can tell how I was feeling at the time I created each piece. I see sadness in some, joy in others, the longing for love is in most of them... Each one is a piece of me, so I love them all.

8. Who do you credit, if anyone, for encouraging you to be doing what you're doing right now?

I credit the bleeding hearts of the women I've had the privilege of working with spiritually. I also credit all the people who called me black and ugly. I give a big thank you to those who made me feel stupid and unworthy.

 My art is symbolic of sovereignty and gives me self efficacy over my life.

 I'm a self taught artist.

 I didn't wait for anyone to tell me I "could" do it. This is why I'm so passionate about my creative process.

9. Can prospective sponsors organise a big show for you? Absolutely!

10. From which sites can people buy your art? 

You can browse, share and shop via my personal store at:

 http://www.iloveherart.com/  

or my etsy store at:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SalkisReArt

Discover more about Salkis Re artwork & poems and follow her on Instagram 

https://www.instagram.com/salkisreart

Vanity Afro, 05/01/2019

Be happy, do the best you can, be good and be kind. X