WHAT ARE DIVINE PORTRAITS? These portraits are made with semi-precious stones, jewels, acrylic gems, glass, found object, collage, oil paint, acrylic paint, nail polish, glitter and other found object. The style, which is an original style, is a blend of impressionism, surrealism, found object, abstract and collage. I consider this to be on the cutting edge of contemporary surrealistic art. They are inspired by the aura, imagery, emotions and feelings that THE ARTIST, (myself), perceive from the patron as I am creating the art work. As an artist, I am sensitive to the energy of my clients. And this is what I use to inspire my work. At times, the energy expresses a contemporary present state. And sometimes, the energy refers to remnants of energy left from another time, perhaps a past life! And then, there are those times when the client wishes to manifest a potential reality. At this times, I paint their portrait to express this portal. The portraits and this book serve multiple uses. First, the portraits can be construed as contemporary collectible works of art. And second, they can serve as a beautiful artistic and significant portraits of the seater. For the reader, it is my hope that through this book, you will learn to see inwardly as you enter the realm of your imagination. And yes, for sampling purposes, many of my paintings here are of myself. Here I include them to demonstrate how this style was developed. I hope you will have fun looking at this images. And I welcome you to my world of fantastic art! Grace Divine
About the Author: I am a survivor who believes in the inexorable power of the human spirit. I am a believer who has seen through tragedy into the eye of the setting sun knowing that the morrow can bring a new and brighter day. I am a compassionate human being who empathizes with the suffering of others and wants to be there for them. And I do this by writing transformational stories and creating art filled with characters and images that are imbued with passion and love. I was born in California. At five I was abducted in the trunk of a car. I only saw my mother a few times after that. I was moved from place to place as a child and hid in the US, Mexico and Spain. I went to ten schools the first twelve years. During this time, I had to contend with a father whose mental illness and drug and alcohol addictions caused him to be a dangerous sadist. I was barely eighteen years old when I ran away from home because he threatened to kill me with a 38 revolver. But I got on my feet, found a job, bought a car. I graduated from UCI with a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics and the ability to speak several languages. While there, I married a medical student. My first pregnancy ended in stillbirth. Notwithstanding this and other hardships I graduated from UCLA Law School in 1992. We moved to Texas and while I was raising my children, I graduated from the University of Texas Dallas where I received an M.A.. There I took several writing courses. Then, I began a career as a visual/writing artist. My artwork, mostly surrealist, includes extensive writings, short stories and poetry. One of my paintings "The Kiss of Death," is featured adjacent to a Picasso in the acclaimed documentary by the BBC: THE PRIVATE LIFE OF A MASTERPIECE: THE KISS BY GUSTAV KLIMT ICON OF THE 20TH CENTURY. Today, I engage my writing, photography and art in an effort to understand the nature of the human experience, the processes of the mind, the experience of memory, visual and mental perception and life in general. My art and writing also include queries into the nature of the universe and the existence of life after death. As such, my art constitutes a form of auto-biography. I see it as a glimpse into an American woman artists experience at the turn of the 20th century. Ultimately, I am glad to be able to share my artistic experience. Perhaps others will find it useful in their quest to understand life.