About Mina
I grew up in Tennessee and Kentucky, chasing fireflies on my grandparents’ farm until they sold it and moved to town. Even then, I carried that patch of dirt and the smell of honeysuckle with me.
As a teenager, I landed in West Texas—a world away from what I knew. The landscape was raw and open, the people tough and rooted. I stuck out with my sketchbook, vintage typewriter, and Tennessee drawl, but that place changed me. Under those endless skies, I started pouring all the things I couldn’t say out loud—especially after my parents split—into my art.
That’s when I realized art and writing weren’t just stages in my life. They were how I held myself together.
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I will always have an unwritten story in me and my heart will always strive to give readers those happy-ever-afters. But art has given me room to breathe and a way to sift through the tangled mess in my head. It’s helped me discover parts of myself I thought were gone, turning pain and frustration into something that feels alive. Every canvas is a little heart‑to‑heart with me: raw, honest, and surprisingly freeing. And each time I step back, I’m reminded of how strong I really am.​​
These days, I’m back on a farm in the Appalachian Mountains—horses, goats, dogs, ducks, and chickens included. Life’s busy, but there’s a rhythm to it that I love. Painting gives me a way to slow down and sort things out. Every time I pick up the brush, it feels like I’m figuring things out a little more—just one layer of paint at a time.
Artist Statement
As an emerging artist, I’m still discovering the balance between my own self-doubt and the urge to express something genuine. Each piece I paint feels like a tentative conversation—where strokes of color wrestle with subtler details, and where my uncertainties intermingle with the subject’s purpose. I’m drawn to moments that hint at both vulnerability and inner strength, hoping that through the exploration of light, shadow, and form, I’ll find my artistic voice.
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In these recent pieces, I wanted to capture a sense of identity that’s both rooted in personal or cultural heritage and open to interpretation. The vivid face in a few of the portraits speaks to the layers we each carry—our histories, fears, and hopes—while in the gentler composition of the other paintings, I’m trying to convey calm despite feeling unsure of my own footing. In many ways, each portrait becomes a mirror for my own emerging style: earnest, curious, and evolving with each brushstroke. By placing these figures against atmospheric backgrounds and leaning into both realism and abstraction, I hope viewers see not just the subject’s story, but my own exploration of who I am—an artist continually finding her way.
