Tine Art Co.

New pieces called “Sand Dunes.” Check them out in the Etsy store! Also, all pieces are now $25 with FREE shipping 💗

Over the last few months, as events have unfolded and the Black Lives Matter movement has accelerated, I’ve watched, read, an assessed my own thoughts. I searched myself for any underlying prejudices or unknown racism. During this time I also painted and painted and painted.

I’ve always loved skin tones. I love the way different colors look on different shades of people. I was so inspired by all the art that has come out of this current civil rights movement and I decided to create my own homage called “Shades of Beauty” that celebrates all the different, beautiful colors of skin in the world; especially Black women and other minorities.

My goal was to find a way to support POC through these pieces of art and it took me a while to land on the right organization. Recently, human trafficking has struck me to my core, and I was horrified to learn that it disproportionately affects women of color. I started researching anti-trafficking organizations that help a high percentage of POC. And then I found GEMS ().

GEMS—Girls Educational and Mentoring Service—is based in NY and was founded by Rachel Lloyd, a trafficking survivor who has been working with women emerging from the commercial s*x industry for 23 years. GEMS is New York State’s first—and only—organization designed to provide trauma-informed, strengths-based services and has worked with thousands of young women and girls, ages 12–24. GEMS helped co-write and pass the “NYS Safe Harbor for Exploited Youth Act:” the first bill in the nation to stop the criminalization of commercially s*xually exploited children. In 2015, GEMS reported that 95% of commercial s*xual exploitation and trafficking were made up of girls of color. These facts and statistics made thus organization “the one” for me in terms of serving anti-trafficking efforts and POC.

20% of profits on “Shades of Beauty” paintings will go to GEMS. Each of these paintings will be different—no two alike—unique like every beautiful woman or child who is a victim and who will become a survivor with the help of organizations like GEMS.

Paintings are $35 w/shipping and they’re available on the Etsy shop or directly by sending a DM.