Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty
Vision Quest XVIII
acrylic painting on canvas
8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm)
© copyright Mike Kraus
To purchase, please visit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/224336473/vision-quest-xviii-original-acrylic
I have stayed here for several days. Alone in the wilderness with only the things I can carry in my backpack. I've been rationing my food and water to extend my time here. There's an intensity to the evening sun that is counter-balanced by the darkness of the soil. A delicate harmony to everything.
This piece would work in a space that is burnt orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, or a neutral beige
For more information or custom order, please visit:
Store: MikeKrausArt.etsy.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mkraus
Jakelin was a 7-year-old fleeing gang infested Guatemala.
Felipe Gómez Alonzo died of an infection and the flu at 8-years-old
Juan de León Gutiérrez was 16-years-old when he died from an infection.
A 2-year-old died of pneumonia.
These are just a few of the 15,000 children imprisoned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and other United States Government Agencies and their for-profit contractors. They are being kept in concrete cells, deprived of basic necessities, and starving from hunger. The filth they are forced to live in has led to flu, lice, and respiratory outbreaks, that are purposefully being neglected. And guards punish these children for minor offences by taking away their blankets, mats, and forcing them to sleep directly on the concrete floor (Southern Poverty Law Center)
These are just a few of the 15,000 children imprisoned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and other United States Government Agencies and their for-profit contractors. They are being kept in concrete cells, deprived of basic necessities, and starving from hunger. The filth they are forced to live in has led to flu, lice, and respiratory outbreaks, that are purposefully being neglected. And guards punish these children for minor offences by taking away their blankets, mats, and forcing them to sleep directly on the concrete floor (Southern Poverty Law Center)
I am extremely disturbed that a country that has shown me and my family such kindness is so cruel to others. This is not about politics. This is about justice, kindness, and truth. These children and parents are fleeing Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala because government-supported gangs are violently attacking them (United Nations). After a dangerous journey, we deny them their rights to asylum (Amnesty International), we kidnap and lose their children (American Civil Liberties Union), cage and sexually assault kids (New York Times), and deny them due process and indefinite imprisonment at detention/internment/concentration camps (Los Angeles Times). We're allowing them to die in these terrible conditions (NBC News). And we arrest and try to imprison good, Christians who provide food and water to those in need (The Guardian).
I don't care about politics and find involvement in them to be humiliating. I do care about honesty, fairness, and respect. I ask that you remember your family roots, that you search your heart, and confront cruelty in all its forms.
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