The Art of Becoming: Inside the Dynamic World of Keisha Makonese

Mass-produced art has saturated the market. In this space, it’s soul-stirring to stumble upon an original piece crafted by hand, infused with personal history, and imbued with layers of meaning. This is what Keisha Makonese offers: vivid paintings and unique jewelry that reflect her artistic skill and rich life story.

Keisha has been walking the creative path since childhood. Her love for art began in grade school, where her full-figure sketches stood out against classmates’ stick figures. During middle and high school, Keisha’s love for the arts only grew. She thrived in advanced art courses and joined an honor society, planting her identity as a creative, even if she didn’t yet call herself an artist.

After high school, Keisha pursued an art degree but didn’t complete the program. Life took a different turn. She became a young mother, married, and spent over 15 years working in event management. While building a career and raising her children, art became a hobby, a respite, and a means of expression. “I used to say, ‘I draw a little.’ I didn’t realize I was an artist until my late 20s. Saying it out loud made it real,” she shares.

Everything changed in 2025 when Keisha committed to her practice full-time. After working in a nonprofit, she decided to embrace the identity she’d long been cultivating. Keisha now works daily from her home studio in Denver, where she paints constantly surrounded by brushes, wire, canvases, and countless works-in-progress.

Keisha’s creations are rich in symbolism and emotion. Her work prominently features faceless women. The figures are rendered without expressions or eyes, allowing viewers to see themselves or someone they love in the image. Meanwhile, her abstract pieces invite deeper contemplation. “It’s like a visual game,” Keisha says. “My abstract works contain hidden shapes, faces, or eyes, sometimes even flipped orientations, allowing multiple distinct perspectives within one canvas.”

The ballerinas are perhaps Keisha’s most iconic series. Although not a dancer herself, she’s fascinated by the strength and discipline behind their poise. “It’s the grace, the heart, the perfection they strive for,” Keisha states. The ballerinas, often crafted using wire, rope, and feathers, resonate with her audience, especially women. Each one is different in tone and form, yet all echo the same message of elegance and resilience.

A strong thread running through the artist’s journey is the influence of her great-grandmother, Flora Carnell Lewis, who was a renowned artist with a piece exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1939. “I wish I had known her. She passed away when I was just a baby, but the connection is there,” Keisha shares. “My grandma was an artist, and she defied odds as a Black woman in art during her time.” Keisha keeps her legacy close by, letting that lineage guide her craft.

This reverence for heritage and creativity extends into Keisha’s jewelry line. Her handmade wire earrings, known for their striking design and feather-light weight, are sought after by customers globally. No two pairs are alike. Each wearable art speaks to the wearer’s individuality.

Keisha’s process is intuitive and layered. Some works begin as sketches she may revisit years later. Others evolve directly on the canvas, particularly her abstracts, where spontaneity meets vision.

It’s worth noting that Keisha is committed to making art accessible. She deliberately maintains a range of price points because she believes original art should be within reach for anyone. The artist sells her work through her website and social media platforms, shipping globally to collectors and fans.

Currently, Keisha is developing a bold new series titled “Give Me My Flowers.” True to its name, the collection demands recognition, celebrating self-worth, confidence, and praise. She’s not stopping at canvas and wire. Her plans include launching a line of apparel, taking her art beyond the gallery wall and into wearable fashion.

For Keisha Makonese, art is a calling, a legacy, and a means of connecting past to present, soul to soul. Her story is one of rediscovery, resilience, and the pursuit of creative truth. Moreover, her work continues to bloom with every stroke, sketch, and swirl of wire.