Leticia Banegas (@leticiabanegasart) overcame her fear of exposing her art to the public after her paintings had consumed every room of her mother’s house. “One day my mum said, ‘You either give them away, throw them away or exhibit them!’” says Leticia, who lives in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. It was an ultimatum that would eventually turn her into a successful full-time artist.
In Leticia’s family, women have always played a dominant role. In her art things aren’t different, as magnificent female characters fill Leticia’s paintings. “I paint a queen, a priestess and a damsel. I really like to explore archetypes and use mythology,” she says. “I feel like we are all those women. All those archetypes live inside of us.”
One of her favorites is “La Matriarca” (The Matriarch), a Queen Elizabeth I look-alike who represents her grandmother. “She has always been the pillar of the family, and I painted her when she was younger, in her climax, when she was 45 or 50 years old. That’s when you can see the energy she’s always transmitted.”
Photo by @leticiabanegasart