Jaysyn  Dempsey

In this series, I wanted to share my experiences as a Black girl living in Castro Valley. While growing up in this community, I felt both safe and in danger. Although the area has low crime rates, the lack of diversity made me feel like an easy target. It was difficult for me to recognize the discrimination I faced until I realized how different my experiences were compared to those around me. As I continued to live in Castro Valley, I became more aware of my experiences and eventually realized that they could be relatable to the wider Black community.

As an artist, I strongly believe that a person's eyes can reveal a lot about them. Therefore, I emphasize adding intricate details to my work and allow my brushstrokes to enhance the emotions that I convey in my pieces. I prefer using plain backgrounds and words to intensify the emotions and brushwork that I use for my portraiture in my paintings. To express strong emotions, I use a combination of colors and brushstrokes, often layering acrylic paints to give them greater impact. My biggest inspiration is artist Kevin Claiborne. I admire his works where he uses words on top of old pictures he takes. He's known for taking photos and paintings of questions about education, black history, and mathematics. I incorporate this into my work by frequently using old photos of my past and adding words into my paintings. I enjoy painting old photos and my family, which I include in my artwork to demonstrate that the experiences I depict could happen to anyone in the black community. In my pieces, each painting has a different topic. I paint about religion, fear, family, being watched, memories, hair,and different perspectives/views.