SF artist Dev Heyrana celebrates women with her art series 'Kayumangii: Brown-Skinned'

SAN FRANCISCO -- "When words escape me, painting feels like a way that I am able to tell my story," SF Bay Area Artist Dev Heyrana shares.

According to Heyrana, her journey with art started when she was just 5 years old. "In the Philippines, there are so many palm trees. I would just draw them free hand... that was really fun for me to do," Heyrana explains.

After she immigrated to the United States, her connection with art deepened. "It meant more, a way for me to connect with what was going on inside of me. It was healing," Heyrana reveals. Today, her art continues to evolve. In fact, one day, while drawing with her oldest daughter, Quinn, she found the inspiration for one of her series "Kayumangii: Brown-Skinned."

"My daughter was doing a self-portrait: She as frustrated. She was like, 'I can't make this look like me,'" Heyrana recalls, "I asked her why. What was the problem? She was telling me about the skin color." In her "Kayumangii" series, Heyrana mixed her own colors and painted portraits of women on wood panels to highlight the color of skin.

Visit here for more information about Heyrana's art and virtual classes.