“Stand Up Speak Out” – Original Oil Painting

Description

“Stand Up Speak Out” is a 20×30 oil painting brimming with symbolism, defiance, and unapologetic power. At the center stands a white-haired woman at the front pew, pointing with her cane,aimed  directly toward the viewer. The base of the cane bears the words Stand Up Speak Out, making the gesture both a physical stance and a call to action. Her wry grin suggests she has weathered a lifetime of attempts to silence her, yet here she is—still standing, still speaking.

Behind her, seated in the pews, a Black woman nurses an infant while two young Black girls sit close by. All three have golden halos, radiating dignity, care, and generational strength. In the background, a diverse mix of other congregants populate the sanctuary—some disengaged, absorbed in their phones, while others look visibly unsettled by the woman’s defiance. Across from her, several parishioners react with alarm at the breach of “order,” their discomfort contrasting with her steady confidence.

On the pulpit, an open Bible rests on a lectern, turned to a passage from the book of Timothy instructing women to be silent and submissive. On the front pew beside the woman is a sign with a quote from Proverbs that says She is clothed in beauty. A green snake slithers across the pulpit, a vivid reminder of the biblical narratives used to justify misogyny—and of the fear such teachings inspire. On the far side of the pews, a wolf fixes its gaze on the viewer, a potent symbol of instinct, independence, and untamed power. Above, the stained glass windows glint with embedded women’s power symbols, casting light filtered through generations of struggle for equality.

Every detail in Stand Up Speak Out is deliberate: the halos as sacred defiance, the wolf as unclaimed authority, the snake as the insidiousness of manipulation, the juxtaposition of solidarity and opposition in the congregation. This is a painting about rebellion in sacred spaces, the courage to confront injustice in the places it hides, and the beauty of women—especially women in community—refusing to yield.