"We the People" paintings

I want to tell you a story. When I was 16, I met a boy at prom. He wasn’t my date; he was the other guy on the double date. He, at 17, was working on his private pilot license. I found his passion and determination so attractive and inspiring. 

His parents could afford flying lessons. He had a car to drive himself to the airport and to the necessary classes at a community college. Most of the pilots he saw looked like the man he would grow up to be.

There are no surprises in this story. This boy and I have been together since — more than 20 years. I am not a pilot, but I can’t overstate aviation’s role in my life. I probably wouldn’t be married to my husband if he hadn’t been that attractive teenage pilot. He wouldn’t have served 12 years as an Air Force pilot, which gave us our best friends, shaped who we are as adults, and moved us to Oklahoma. And if we hadn't moved to Oklahoma, I wouldn't have been inspired to paint its wild skies and the wonderful people there wouldn't have bought and supported my art, which led me to leave my job and become a full-time artist. I really am not sure what my life would be like today if it weren’t for aviation. 

But, not everyone has the same access to pursue their dreams that my husband had. That’s why I am donating a portion of the sale of each of these paintings to Women in Aviation International and Red Tail Scholarship Foundation, two organizations that help spread the wealth of opportunity. My life has been so enriched by, and I am so thankful for, the selfless, resilient people we have met through aviation — many of whom, despite the odds and the challenges they have faced, are not straight, white, males.

The words and phrases in these paintings are from our country’s declaration of independence and our constitution — the constitution that my husband swore under oath to support and defend and that some of our friends died protecting. I painted these words and phrases as reminders of why our country was founded and what it stands for — for all people.

I used a pencil to outline these letters by hand. I usually didn’t get the lines right the first time or even the second, but I left the pencil lines as evidence of all the ways I kept trying to get it right. I saw a similarity between these drafts, my determination, and my (imperfect!) letters and our country. Our country is beautiful, far from perfect, definitely still a work-in-progress, and ours to shape. 

My "We the People" paintings will be available for pre-sale to the folks on my email list at 8 a.m. PT on Friday, May 2. Be sure to sign up for my email list if you want first dibs.