I just released a short video that shows my latest painting of the 9/11 tragedy. Please let me know what you think by posting comments on YouTube, or on my Facebook page. (Click the Read More button to see the embedded video)

On September 11th 2001, just before the tragic events that would unfold that morning, I was in Lower Manhattan. As I was walking south and thinking about my projects, I suddenly felt an urgent need to pray for many people who were in pain. So, I started to pray… Then, I crossed one more street… and somebody showed me the collapsing North tower of the World Trade Center… As the clouds of dust began engulfing everything around me, I run away with other people.

I began to paint this canvas soon after 9/11 but I couldn’t finish it. The images of living nightmares I witnessed that day, and those echoed over and over in the media, weakened my motivation. I put the unfinished painting away, as I wouldn’t force myself to work on it under these circumstances. Though mine paled in comparison to so many others, it took me almost 10 years to overcome my trauma from that tragic day.

This past July, nearly 10 years later, I finally felt the energy necessary to finish my artwork. I applied golden leaves on the angel’s hair and wings to show their heavenly origin. Then, I covered their clothing and wings with dust imitating the dust from the burning towers because evil triumphed over good on that day. When I completed this painting, I named it Golden Angels over Lower Manhattan on 9/11.

I believe that that strong urge to pray for people in pain I felt on 9/11 was somehow connected to the innocent people on those hijacked planes and inside the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Their many stories told and those that we would never hear are why I decided to dedicate this painting to the victims of the 9/11 attacks. They inspired my prayers, my artwork, and continue to inspire me.

I dedicate this painting to the victims of the 9/11 attacks and their families.

-Leokadia