About the artist:

Self-taught artist Linds Miyo is a Canadian abstract painter. Born and raised in California, her work strives to evoke the strong, direct light of her childhood. A trauma survivor, Linds is interested in the balance between intention and that which is beyond our control, the meeting place between our best efforts and happenstance. She often uses broad representational panes of textured black in her work, washing layers of colour over top - folding the dark relief of the past into multi-dimensional present-day, with honesty, happiness and sparkle.

About this work:

This painting is part of a larger series about working with what you have. The limited palette is purposeful. Most of my paintings start with the Black. I love the Black. Chalkboard paint, a heavy texture and drip that I adore. I add color, washing it over the top. I paint around, over just a little. I make the Black a beautiful part of a larger whole, absorbed into something bigger, with color, light and soul.

I am a survivor. Like many others, I’ve had to overcome. The trauma was there before my memory began recording. The Black is Me. It is everyone who has ever gotten to the other side. The Black is volcanic ash that now supports new life. The Black is a forest fire, burnt ground that is now fertile for discovery. They are the past. I decide what comes next. I will decide what color. I will add glitter and varnish on top of the past. I will make the future.