five paintings
“My dad died three years ago, and then one year later, in May 2017, my pet ferret died. Buck was my son, and losing him after my father led me to a down whirl-swirl that eventually ended with me in a mental institution. However, as I left the mental institution, I decided that I wanted to change my outlook on life and fight against my depression. In a hopeful outlook, I realized that my son Buck was going to meet his grandfather for the first time in Heaven and I knew that it was going to be a joyful gathering. The flower, chrysanthemums, painted in this scene represents hope and love, but also death.”
“This piece is political commentary on the never-ending shootings that occur, especially targeting young children. This piece is directly inspired by the Overland Park Jewish Community Center shooting, in which a white supremacist killed three people near the White Theater where they were preparing for their performance of How To Kill A Mockingbird. I imagined a scenario in which a white supremacist shooter would enter into a theater full of kids watching a play celebrating diversity and willingly kill innocent children. This piece was meant to bring awareness to the gun control reform issue, in hopes of riling people up over the graphic reality of these shootings and their effect on children, both physically and emotionally.”
“This is part of my “Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales” group of pieces, interpreted for modern times and to personal matters in my life. This piece is based on Los Pollitos, a popular lullaby in Mexico about three baby chicks that are hungry and cold and are waiting for their mother hen to provide for them. My mother suffers from schizophrenia, and jumbles religious imagery and beliefs, as noted in the similarity to the imagery of the Virgin of Guadalupe (Jesus’s mother). Before her episodes, she was a caring mother, juxtaposed against the hypocrisy and “evil” of the world, as illustrated by the slip of paper detailing the thoughts and prayers that people tend to use as an excuse from helping others.”
“As part of my “Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales” interpretation set, this final piece is based on the nursery rhyme Star Light, Star Bright. Although I had a traumatic, broken childhood, I have a wish that my creative mind will create a bright future, a star, that will let me grow. Your childhood or past does not define you or your future. And this piece is representational of the power that imagination and hope has, to give you the power to pave your path.”
“While creating this piece, I began experimenting with Gelli printing and various cutouts, intending to discuss the political effects of chemical warfare, when, two days later, the chemical attacks in 2018 occurred in Syria. I was horrified at the news detailing Abdul-Hamid Alyousef cradling his dead twin babies, as it hit a nerve in my heart. It urged me to create this piece as a memorial to the hundreds of children dying from these wars. In my piece, the devil cradles and comforts the dead girl, as an ironic commentary on the idea that the devil is not what killed the child, but rather the bombers and terrorists.”
Lupita Roa is studying Animation and Digital Arts at USC. She specializes in storytelling, character design, and animation. She comes from tragic, abusive past that forced her to retreat to her screen of cartoons. Lupita is a phoenix, recently risen from the ashes of her past life, and hopes to grow and spread her wings in this new era. Now, Lupita sips boba, laughs with her friends while doodling cartoons, takes care of her younger sister, and goes to therapy every Wednesday so she can continue finding the roses in the bushes of thorns. She had a broken childhood, but now she has a thriving adulthood.
You can check out Lupita’s portfolio here.