African Woman

This body of work began with a question rather than an image.

Where are you from?

The African Woman series is inspired by the presence, strength, and quiet authority of African women — not as symbols, but as origin. Dark skin, vivid colour, layered adornment, and an unwavering gaze meet the viewer without explanation. These portraits are not decorative. They are declarative.

Working in oil on canvas and pencil on paper, Deziree Smith explores semi-realism through colour, texture, and stillness. Each face holds both individuality and something shared — a sense of lineage that predates borders and time.

Genetic and fossil evidence shows that modern human life began in Africa over 200,000 years ago. This work responds to that truth intuitively rather than academically. The African woman becomes a mirror — not of difference, but of connection. A reminder that no matter how far we travel or how separate we believe ourselves to be, we share a common beginning.

Adornment plays a deliberate role in this body of work. Fabrics, sculptural headwraps, and bold jewellery echo years spent working alongside interior decorator Ralph Krall, where form, material, and space were treated with care and intention. These elements are not costume; they are structure — expressions of identity, weight, and dignity.

While these paintings have found homes in private collections and interiors, their purpose remains inward rather than performative. They are about presence. About being seen. About holding strength and softness in the same breath.

Deziree Fine Arts is the artist’s human language — the place where ancestry, identity, and joy meet. It does not seek to explain or persuade. It asks only one thing of the viewer:

To recognise themselves.

– Dezireë Smith