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Sophia: A Messenger of Light in Crimson and Rose
Original 16" x 20" Collage & Oil Painting by Kristena West, M.A.
I create Sophia as a being who arrives through color. She floats across a shifting field of crimson and deep rose, and her turquoise robe glows like inner radiance rising from within the canvas itself. As I work, I feel her presence forming through layers of oil, collage, and metallic detail, each stroke revealing her more fully.
Her wings are real metal—thin, hand-etched, and shimmering with quiet light. I attach them so they catch the eye immediately, a physical presence that gives her a sense of sacred arrival. Above her dark hair rests a jeweled crown, and the moment I place it, she becomes a young mystic, a celestial messenger, a figure who steps forward from the threshold with blessing energy.
Around her, the background swirls between green, violet, and red. These colors create a luminous, soft atmosphere that makes her appear weightless, as if she is mid-arrival into the viewer’s world. This is the moment I love most in painting: when an archetype begins to breathe.
My work in cross-cultural iconography always guides me as I paint divine feminine forms. I listen for the essence behind the image—the archetype that moves through many cultures and holds its presence across time. Sophia appears as a guide, an inner teacher, a luminous spark in the center of the heart.
Collectors who resonate with feminine archetypes, goddess imagery, mixed media, and symbolic storytelling often connect deeply to this piece. Sophia carries the energy of awakening, compassion, and the quiet authority of a young oracle.
She is currently available in my studio, and she feels like a painting meant for someone who works with inner light, color meditation, or sacred spaces in their home.
If you feel a spark when you see her, that is the beginning of a conversation between you and the painting—and that conversation is the true magic of art.
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