Smizecream Original

Tyra Banks was a tv role model for me for many years of adolescence. I watched the Tyra Banks Show almost every day after school, learning so much about empathy and understanding… The future. Health. Being a woman. The extremes of America and the common thread between each side. “Smize” was one of my first oil portraits, created at the end of that first Covid scare, after endless hours of alone time and disconnection. Started in the apartment I had on my own and finished in my dad’s home (which I had to move to on account of unemployment and uncertainty,) “Smize” marked a transitional time in my life, full of turmoil and deeper searching. It’s no wonder that the call came to paint such an influence. “Smize” was my little thank you to a personality that coaxed me into adulthood and gave me an inner sense of secureness in who I am.

My skill was growing at the time of finishing “Smize” but now that I am ready to launch a career in art, she had to be polished to cohesive perfection. Inspired by Tyra’s company Smizecream, serving up one of my favorite treats-icecream, I give you my final version: “Smizecream.”