Michelle Obama

120 cm x 120 cm / 48 inches x 48 inches, mixed media on stretched canvas, 2019.

I painted Michelle Obama's portrait as part of a series titled Icons with a purpose. I painted her portrait on a 120cm x 120cm stretched canvas using mixed media. During Michelle Obama's time as the First Lady of the United States, she launched an initiative called Let Girls Learn, which advocates for girls' rights, education and health. Let Girls Learn is a U.S. government initiative aimed at decreasing the obstacles that girls globally face to attain quality education that empowers them to reach their full potential. Michelle Obama is an advocator for UN Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities.

Michelle Obama also started an initiative called Let's Move! Which gathered major players from medicine and academia to work together to address and combat child obesity. Michelle's Let's Move initiative worked with corporations to increase access to healthier foods by reducing the cost of fresh produce and creating more nutritious food menus for children. Mrs. Obama also helped address the issue by creating more transparent food labels for people to be more aware of their consumption. Michelle redesigned lunch programs at school cafeterias, which consisted of serving healthier lunches, decreasing food costs for low-income children, and teaching children the importance of healthy eating.