An artist’s tribute to the oil spill in her hometown

Meet Carole J. McCoy. She was born and raised in LA (Louisiana) and currently resides in the other LA (Los Angeles). McCoy is a woman of many worlds. She's an artist. A member of the holistic community. A former Elite model. A graduate of Old Dominion University. She walks barefoot a lot, declares Abba's "Dancing Queen" as her theme song, and adores pizza with anchovies, pineapple, jalapeno peppers and cheese.

McCoy’s career started off with soap drawings on the household television screen. Now, as a fulltime artist, her fervor for art and culture is being shared with the world. "I love painting large, bright colors, ethereal inspirations, figurative, abstract [and] texture," McCoy shared with me. She uses mostly acrylics with mixed media including glass, sand and rice for 3-D texture. Her inspiration comes from other artists like Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dalí, as well as intangible things like nature's beauty, music and current events.

I contacted McCoy after hearing about her latest painting. When news of the oil spill broke, McCoy was instantly devastated and knew she needed and wanted to do something for her native Louisiana. Three weeks later, "Pelican's Rising," an acrylic painting bloomed. "Our state bird the brown pelican, symbolic and mystical in beauty, already on the endangered species list came to mind. In the spirit of resilient Louisianans, who have been tested with Katrina, the phoenix that rose from the ashes, I configured “Pelican’s Rising.” She is the spirit of Gaia, hybrid of human spirit and the brown pelican that rises from the oil. She plows through the slush of oil afloat on her waters, powerfully with her wings shaking off the oil and debris. Looking and charging forward to clear a path of restoration ahead," her artist statement depicts. McCoy will be selling “Pelican’s Rising” as prints; 15% of the proceeds will go to aid relief in the Gulf Coast. Her work is currently being showcased at the California African American Museum.

For more on McCoy and contact information, visit her site here.

[Images courtesy of Carole J. McCoy (pictured above) and her photographer Rob C. Smith]

By Gawky Green from Two Girls Go Green