I Am She

A Collection of Colorful Personalities

words Jeanni Brosius IMAGEs courtesy Darlenia Grant

She is a woman of courage, yet at times she is afraid. She’s a woman of faith who forgives, trusts and dreams. She allows her creativity and imagination to shine through. She finds joy in the simple things and sees the beauty of God in all humans. I Am She.

-DARLENIA GRANT

WWhen Darlenia Grant paints, her hopeful, joyous soul shines through. Darlenia – known to her friends as DeeDee – has a heart for women, and she understands that each season of a woman’s journey has special meaning. Her art is ablaze with colorful strokes that represent women at various stages of life. Darlenia stood there smiling, seemingly sure of herself, during a recent reception at Gallery 26 in Little Rock. As attendees stopped to visit about her I Am She collection of hand-painted bags, they couldn’t help but notice the colorful jeans she wore featuring lips and eyelashes that fluttered up and down each leg, hand painted by Darlenia. Her new collection, I Am She, is a series of beautiful, bold bags. Each one-of-a-kind bag has a name, a personality, and a story. For example, Karen is a bag with a delightful nature. Darlenia says Karen has a smile and grace to lighten up the saddest heart. Karen has learned how to dance in the rain despite her grievances.

Then there’s Deborah who is a woman of confidence, although she’s been through a lot. Deborah is a warrior who is gentle and kind with the power to move mountains.

Karen and Deborah have many friends. There’s Veronica, who is colorful and fun; Kadijah, who is full of curiosity and wonder; Tosha is cute and quaint, but a force to be reckoned with; Priscilla has endured challenges that have given her courage; and Lesa, who walks confidently through every open door.

According to Darlenia, these women overcome life’s obstacles gaining confidence and strength. Cards describing their unique stories are included with each bag, so the new owner will know who they are carrying.

“I created the bag line to inspire women to be uniquely themselves, to remind a woman to be alive and free, and to become confident in how colorful she is,” Darlenia says. This collection represents the seasons of a woman’s life, where she eases into her identity. The bag collection is based on a piece she painted with the same name I Am She. “I Am She is a 45 x 45 self-portrait. It was therapeutic to release how I see myself through color,” Darlenia says. It’s evident Darlenia has many admirers. One being Renee Williams at Gallery 26, who fell in love with Darlenia’s personality, and after seeing her work asked her to show her work along with other local artists. “We like things in here you can’t buy anywhere else,” Renee says about her Hillcrest gallery. “We have a variety of prices, so everyone can afford something original.”

Another fan is John Bradenberger, owner of Community Bakery. “I love DeeDee’s work,” says John. “What intrigues me about it is there is an underlying joy in her strokes and color palette. There’s a playfulness to it.” John, who is also an artist, says Darlenia has a rare perspective of life, and that shows through in her art. “She has an ease about her,” he continues. “She’s fluid like water and can go in any direction and relates to so many people.”

Born and raised in Seattle, Darlenia learned a lot about diversity in arts and fashion because her hometown is such a melting pot, culturally. When Darlenia was seven, she watched Bob Ross and began dabbling in painting. By the fifth grade, she found a passion for fashion and would put together her own outfits.

“My mom allowed me to wear mismatched clothing,” Darlenia says with a smile. In her youth, she was confident in her art and her identity, but as she got older, that confidence began to fade. As with most women, she began to question her talent and her identity. “I became a chameleon and didn’t think what I liked was good enough,” Darlenia says.

The pandemic reignited her passion to reach her full potential as an artist. “Things were scary and unsure, and when I saw people were getting sick and dying of Covid, I knew I had to follow through and start painting,” Darlenia says.

She began writing stories about her paintings and shared them on social media. Since that time, she’s had four art shows. One of the paintings that helped carve her path with art is titled Self Sabotage. “I was sabotaging myself; second guessing myself and making things take longer, I didn’t feel as if I was good enough, so I went into the garage and painted my feelings. Sabotage is a monstrous thing that eats away at our hopes and dreams.”

The response to the painting was so strong that she had her third art show at Argenta Counseling and Wellness in North Little Rock during an Argenta District Friday Night Art Walk last April.

A natural encourager of women, Darlenia enjoys speaking to groups. She recently was given an opportunity to speak about art at a Community Bakery event. She told a story about her grandmother who used food as a bridge builder. Her grandmother loved cooking for her friends of multiple nationalities. “I spoke about how, in the same way that she

Darlenia Grant

enabled people to feel seen and heard through her cooking, I too, am inspired to do the same through my art and the stories I tell. The legacy my grandmother left behind is being passed down to me through art. She loved women and serving them and so do I.”

To learn more about Darlenia’s work, follow her on Instagram @ForHisGloryArtWork. Her latest show continues through January 14 at Gallery 26, located at 2601 Kavanaugh, Suite 1, in Little Rock, Arkansas.