Aunt Clara Brown - Women of Faith & Courage Part 4

Aunt Clara brown was one of the first African American Women to settle in Colorado. She was a former slave of Virginia and Kentucky. At age 56 she was granted her freedom due to the specification of her former slave owner's will. Later she was hired as a maid and a cook for miners traveling from Leavenworth Kansas to Colorado. Since she was a black women, it was said that she could not ride inside the traveling wagons.  Therefor she had to walk over 600 miles from Kansas to Colorado. Brown is believed to be Colorado’s gold rush first African American woman

Brown also opened the first laundry in the state of Colorado and was one of the wealthiest women of the west. She served the community and gave generously to the church and the community. She was quoted as saying, "I always go where Jesus calls me."

Clara has been a challenge because like Tubman and Sojourner, I did not draw her first. I started painting directly on the black boards without getting the composition down first. However after repainting certain parts of her face, I was able to finally get her looking much better. What a drastic change from beginning to end. I have a lot more to do to get her back on track.  I will have the final image posted on my website. Like the others in the series, this is also a 2'x3' painting on particle board. 

Never give up on the difficult paintings. Just keep painting.

Thanks for reading!