Rest in Power
March 30, 2019
Rest in Power
May 18, 2019
Paloma Vazquez, a 29-year-old Latina transgender woman, was a member of Organización Latina de Trans en Texas, an organization for Latina trans women in Texas. On Feb. 26, 2022, she was fatally shot in Houston, Texas. Paloma’s death is at least the 6th violent killing of a transgender or gender non-conforming person in 2022. (from hrc.org)
Acey Morrison, a 30-year-old Two-Spirit person, was killed in Rapid City, South Dakota on August 21, 2022.
Acey was described as “... [a] kindhearted, down to earth, joyous, respectful, and loving soul. She was a helpful and giving person who was always there for her family and friends. Acey always put a smile on others and had those around her laughing and happy. She always had her natural ways in being there for those she loved. She used laughter as medicine and chose self-love to heal wounds. She was the one to open her home up to you, give you her lasts, then inspire you to keep going, “this too shall pass”.” (Info from HRC website)
This painting is one of a series to memorialize trans people who were lost to violence and injustice.
These memorial portraits are not for sale in a traditional sense. They are held in trust and available for lease through a donafjon to an organization that supports trans rights, particularly those of BIPOC individuals. After the lease term is up, they are to be returned to the trust and made available for another lease. This ensures that the paintings will generate funds to support the trans community in perpetuity and can never be used for personal profit.
(Additionally, if the close family of one of these people would like the painting, I will happily give it — just reach out)
“Righteous TK “Chevy” Hill, affectionately known to his friends and family as “TK,” “Chevy,” and other nicknames, was a 35-year-old Black transman who used his presence as a community leader to push for LGBTQ+ inclusion. Understanding that many queer people at times feel uncomfortable in traditional Black barber shops, Chevy created Evollusion – an Atlanta-based full-service hair salon dedicated to serving the LGBTQIA+ community specializing in hair, nails, barbering, and makeup.
Tragically, Chevy was shot several times outside his home in East Point, Georgia on February 28th, 2024, and pronounced dead the following day.” (From HRC)
This painting is one of a series to memorialize trans people who were lost to violence and injustice.
These memorial portraits are not for sale in a traditional sense. They are held in trust and available for lease through a donafjon to an organization that supports trans rights, particularly those of BIPOC individuals. After the lease term is up, they are to be returned to the trust and made available for another lease. This ensures that the paintings will generate funds to support the trans community in perpetuity and can never be used for personal profit.
(Additionally, if the close family of one of these people would like the painting, I will happily give it — just reach out)
Camdyn Rider, a 21-year-old white transgender man, was murdered outside his Winter Park home on Friday, July 21st, 2023.
“Worsening an already unspeakable tragedy, Camdyn was eight months pregnant at the time he was killed, and had recently posted on Facebook about how excited he was to welcome a child into the world.” (from HRC)
This painting is one of a series to memorialize trans people who were lost to violence and injustice.
These memorial portraits are not for sale in a traditional sense. They are held in trust and available for lease through a donafjon to an organization that supports trans rights, particularly those of BIPOC individuals. After the lease term is up, they are to be returned to the trust and made available for another lease. This ensures that the paintings will generate funds to support the trans community in perpetuity and can never be used for personal profit.
(Additionally, if the close family of one of these people would like the painting, I will happily give it — just reach out)
Cameron Thompson
This is another portrait from my trans memorial portraits series.
These portraits are always tough for me to work on. I really don’t have great words to talk about how, as a trans person myself, each new death of another trans person brings me a sense of grief and helplessness. These paintings are a way for me to try and recover some joy and remember these lives.
“Cameron Thompson, who also went by “Cam,” was an 18-year-old Black teenage transgender girl from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who had a “contagious smile,” and love for beauty and fashion. Cameron had just completed a training program at Job Corps, and had also recently started a new job to save up money in order to buy herself a car and enroll in college.
Tragically, Cameron was shot and killed in Tuscaloosa on December 16, 2024. Her death marks at least the 32nd trans or gender-expansive person killed in the United States in 2024, and the second killed in Alabama that same year. Both victims were Black transgender teenage girls, and both were killed with a gun.“
Sam Nordquist
In February 2025, Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man from Red Wing, Minnesota, was killed in Hopewell, New York after being tortured for over a month.
This is one that really got to me and still does. Sometimes in NY I feel a little more distanced from day to day violence and injustice that trans people endure. But this one happened here and that combined with all the details really hit me hard.
This painting is one of a series to memorialize trans people who were lost to violence and injustice.
These memorial portraits are not for sale in a traditional sense. They are held in trust and available for lease through a donafjon to an organization that supports trans rights, particularly those of BIPOC individuals. After the lease term is up, they are to be returned to the trust and made available for another lease. This ensures that the paintings will generate funds to support the trans community in perpetuity and can never be used for personal profit.
(Additionally, if the close family of one of these people would like the painting, I will happily give it — just reach out)