BLM protests inspire Bristol artist to sell 29-year-old works

The '12 women of virtue' are designed to positively represent women

An artist has been inspired to sell prints of paintings she started 29 years ago after seeing the "suffering" of black and minority ethnic (BAME) people in society.

Joanne Howell, from Whitehall, Bristol, said the death of George Floyd in the US and coronavirus had left the community "feeling so negative."

Interest in her work began when her son Aaron put photos of it on Instagram.

"She's wanted to sell them since 1995, but lacked the confidence," he said.

The last of the 12 paintings were finished during treatment for her second breast cancer diagnosis in 2017.

But Ms Howell left them in a folder, saying she was "terrified to do anything with them".

The Black Lives Matter protests all summer were a "wake-up call" for her to put her art work out there, said her son.

Ms Howell, pictured with her son, Aaron, wants the paintings to celebrate black culture

Ms Howell works with young people at Bristol Met Academy, and said the summer's protests were an inspiration.

"I saw my son was protesting and I didn't feel like that was for me, but I wanted to add something positive to the argument," she said.

"Black men are often depicted negatively, and black women are sexualised.

"I want to bring a different angle to black women and their contribution to society."

Many of the paintings feature women in head wraps, after Ms Howell's breast cancer treatment.

"It's important that she emphasises hair isn't the image of a woman," Mr Howell said.