Spotlight on Anita Grace Brown: Yellow Arrow Journal XI/01 WONDER Cover Artist
Anita Grace Brown is a multidisciplinary artist exploring the intersections of the imaginal, the spiritual, and the visceral, somatic human experience. Drawing from personal healing, nature’s symbolism, and the textures of memory, her work investigates vulnerability and the alchemy of the self. Often dancing, chanting, and practicing breath work before beginning to paint, she embraces the “messy middle” with patience. Creativity has become a space for reconciliation, resilience, and resurrection!! She invites viewers into spaces where the human, the divine, and the imaginal dwell. Anita is also the cover artist for the first issue of Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. XI, on WONDER, guest edited by Heather Brown Barrett. The issue comes out on May 19 and is currently available for preorder at yellowarrowpublishing.com/store/yellow-arrow-journal-wonder-paperback. We are excited to showcase Twin Heathers on the cover of WONDER.
According to Anita, “I had just completed this piece for actor Cade Meyer (side note: I sent the original artwork to Cade, who never received it through the mail. . . . In an even more recent update, I’ve discovered that the painting was at least delivered to his building!), who played a lead in the Broadway musical Heathers—so the palette is theatrical.” She adds, “On a Friday (the day after seeing the show!) my friend Kelly suggested I submit some art, saying that I had 24 hours to meet Yellow Arrow Journal’s deadline. I trusted the unfolding.”
For Heather, choosing the final cover came down to the mystery and expressive brush strokes offered by Anita’s Twin Heathers. Two subtle figures, similar but not exact; do they represent two selves present in each of us, or two different entities, like friends, or enemies? Are they children, or spirits, or flowers? Are they all of these? Interpretations abound. It’s a garden, a riot of color, and it’s thought-provoking. Thank you, Anita, for sending us your artwork and for letting us showcase it to our community.
Recently, Anita answered some questions about herself and her aspirations.
How does the synergy of curiosity and creativity encourage your personal artistic process?
I have understood the yin/yang symbol to be an accurate depiction of the harmony of discipline and surrender. When I enter flow state, my curiosity builds! As I begin to create, I allow the messy middle to unfold, and my inner child is grateful and thrilled that I do not admonish her for making ugly art. She doesn’t see ugly. She is simply happy to be part of my process. Eventually a corner is turned, and the art begins to tell me what or who it wants to be. It’s incredibly satisfying. My pieces speak back to me about my journey of healing and wholeness.
What part of the creative process do you find most challenging?
I will tell myself you must have beginner’s mind. That leads to telling myself it is time to structure a piece just for the purposes of being disciplined. I will often go on YouTube to learn from someone and attempt something basic with color and shape. Once I have named this, I usually let it go! And my next piece will be all joy and delight to me. But I must name what may be required to remain in flow.
What do you like most about painting in a loose, expressive style? Is this how you would describe your style?
I love those terms. I have not described my style too much. It’s evolving. But what I like most about my “style” is my commitment to sit and enter. I know it gives me energy. I know it’s essential for my mental health. And oftentimes, what’s created will be gifted, and I’ll know in my heart who I’m creating for.
Are there subjects, themes, or motifs that you return to in your artwork?
Yes!! I paint a lot of pregnant women, Jesus, bodies, Eastern images, such as Buddha faces, and nature (trees, flowers, birds, etc.).
What inspired you to paint Twin Heathers?
The Broadway show Heathers. I write about narcissism, empathy, and the drama triangle often, and how, in my experience, Christ has removed me from this dynamic, which repeated in cycles throughout my life. The show was so darkly comedic, revealing that through art and drama we can redeem pain and find our way to liberation. I came home and painted Twin Heathers as a gift for one of the leads, who is a friend of a friend.
How do you define success as an artist?
To delight in my work.
Is there anything in particular that you would like to share about yourself or your art?
For my entire life I held the story “I can’t draw a stick figure”— like a lot of people. Healing my sacral chakra through body prayer yoga delivered a flow of creative energy in my mid-40s, which showed up as poetry. A few years later, I began to be interested in expressing myself through charcoal and acrylics and took a few lessons. I would love for anyone reading this to know you can unblock energy and create simply for creation’s sake. It doesn’t have to be for anyone else. Making it for yourself is always enough—like, what would you be doing instead?
(Side note from Heather: here’s another thing that Anita shared with me. She goes to Goodwill in search of donated original art with the intention of repurposing it and keeping some components. Recently she found and repurposed a charcoal drawing by a man from 1985, the year she turned 20!)
Where online can readers connect with you or see your work?
I share my work primarily on Instagram @anitagracebrown and sometimes on Facebook. I am just beginning to pursue an online store on Etsy for prints and cards.
Thank you, Anita, for finding the time to answer our questions and for being a part of WONDER. And thank you to everyone for supporting the creatives involved in the issue. You can preorder your copy of WONDER at yellowarrowpublishing.com/store/yellow-arrow-journal-wonder-paperback. If you want to reserve a copy of both issues of 2026, make sure to pick up a discounted journal bundle at yellowarrowpublishing.com/store/yellow-arrow-journal-bundle, for yourself or as a gift.
Heather Brown Barrett is an award-winning poet in southeastern Virginia. She mothers her young son and contemplates life, the universe, and everything with her writer husband. She is a Cherokee Nation citizen, the membership chair of The Poetry Society of Virginia, a member of The Muse Writers Center, and a former board member of Hampton Roads Writers. Much of her work is influenced by themes and dualities of motherhood, modes of forgiveness and grace, and the types of subjects that plague most poets, like death, grocery stores, and birds. She’s the author of Water in Every Room (Kelsay Books, 2025), a collection of poems embodying the fluctuations of emotion and form in new motherhood.
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