Amiri Richardson-Keys

This painting came to me long before it reached the canvas, emerging alongside my transition from artist to art therapist. The hand is my own, reaching from a place of love, memory, and faith. It is the same hand that paints, comforts, teaches, and now sits beside others as they navigate healing. It also reaches toward those who shaped me: my mother, grandmother, aunts, and my late father, whose presence, wisdom, and love remain just beyond my fingertips.

Resting on the hand, the monarch butterfly symbolizes transformation, resilience, and the enduring nature of the soul. Its migration across generations mirrors the ways love, strength, and wisdom are carried from one life to another. The surrounding white space creates room for stillness and reflection, inviting viewers to bring their own memories into the work. Ultimately, the piece is about presence, healing, and inheritance: the understanding that as I reach toward others, 1 am also held by those who came before me.

REACHING FOR GRACE, 2026

20 x 24 in

Acrylic on canvas