My name is Denise Gracias. I am a Canadian, born in Mumbai, India. I moved to Canada when I was a baby and consider it my home. I feel strong connections to India, the intriguing, mystical place of my birth. I feel a connection also to Spain, where I worked and lived for three years. There is one more country, the Holy Land. As a devout Catholic, being able to walk and experience the very places where Jesus Walked, Lived, Died, and Resurrected, as well as all the stories leading to His Coming, I feel a very strong connection to this land as well.
I had an early start in art, but left it for many decades as in my generation, “art could never be a real job”. I do not regret working in the pharmaceutical field, as it gave me the means to travel and live out many of my dreams. It was in Barcelona, Spain, that a street artist awakened my long buried artistic desires and encouraged me to return to it. d
I returned late life, but I came with the life experiences and wisdom to create the artwork that I probably would not have created had I plunged into art early on. It is never too late to follow your dreams. It is never too late to learn new skills. Indeed, being an artist, I have an insatiable hunger to investigate, learn, challenge, and try new things to create the art that is meaningful to me.
In this day and age, there is so much confusion, sorrow, fear, and a lack of purpose. I believe that Jesus Christ is the only One who can save this broken world. My art is not meant to convert. It is meant to share what Jesus Has done in my life. I too have been lost. I too have been disappointed. I too have been in dark times. In my deepest vulnerable moments, Jesus Christ is present. Jesus Christ is there. Jesus Christ will help you.
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