Oil and paper on canvas, 18” x 24”
The beautiful expectant mother smiles. It is her child that stares directly at us. The child represents poverty.
"This painting speaks to us quietly and with great force. Each child is unique and deserves to have an opportunity to live life to the fullest. Tula's work provides a gentle reminder that all children on earth need to be fed and loved. "
Private Collection
Susan and Gary Neumann Medina, Washington
This is the portrait of a Batwa Pygmy woman from Burundi, Africa. When our missionary team visited in 2010, these were the poorest people on earth. Their life expectancy was 27 years old!
Private Collection
Rowan Williams
Cambridge, UK
“Testify is such a moving and eloquent piece and for me calls back some very poignant and powerful memories from African visits, especially in Congo, listening to women and children who had been victims of abuse and atrocity there. The power and dignity of the image is exceptional.“
Rowan Williams Master, Magdalene College ,Cambridge Retired, Archbishop of Canterbury, UK
"As a designer, and collector of both her still lifes and figure paintings, I appreciate the range of talent in Tula Holmes' works of art. Her African series touches the soul.”
Private Collection
Jan Rogers Seattle, Washington
Africa is rapidly changing. The man in traditional robes looks out over the landscape and sees deforestation, farming, and storm clouds in the distance.
Private Collection
"I love the colors in Tula's painting. This African landscape is peaceful and beautiful."
Lenny Wilkens Lenny Wilkens Foundation Founder
“I was fortunate to purchase a Tula Holmes painting from one of her humanitarian trips to Africa. I love this work. It is one of my most beloved pieces in my collection.”
Private Collection
Mark McCarty St. Louis, Missouri
The Batwa are some of the poorest people on earth. If this potter could sell her work, she would only be paid $.25. I want you to feel her dignity as she works on her artistic creation.
Private Collection
"Batwa Village is absolutely stunning. It is the focus piece of our great room. Each day when we look at it, we smile and know how very happy we are to have such a wonderful, meaningful piece of art."
Private Collection
Nikki and Mark Mahan Bellevue, Washington
Oil on paper, 30"x23"
"Tula captures the essence of the Burundian people. Vibrant & beautiful! Amahoro!"
Kathleen Tobin Krueger Author of: From Bloodshed to Hope in Burundi New Braunfels, Texas
Oil on paper, 22” x 30”
"I had the pleasure of Tula's company in my studio. Tula, the student, and I the instructor. But with the completion of The Potato Peeler, I knew that it was as good as anything in my studio. That's when that wonderful reversal happens, the instructor becomes the student, and the student, the instructor."
Paton Miller, Artist Southampton, NY
Oil on paper, 22” x 30”
"A l’heure où les tambours de guerre résonnent à nouveau dans les collines du Burundi, ce pays oublié de tous, je découvre avec émerveillement ta palette de couleurs. Tu as su capturer ce que seule une grande sensibilité est à même de le faire : les émotions. La magie de l’instant m’invite à passer le mur de la toile, tambours et tambourinaires ne font plus qu’un, le son est puissant, lancinant et le rythme m’enivre cette fois encore." Raymond Debelle United Nations
Oil on paper, 23'x30"
"Tula can be inspired by almost anything, but her real genius is in painting the things that move her soul. You see it in the brushstroke and the bravura color sense."
Pamela Orenstein Artist Southampton, NY
This larger than life-sized zebra stares directly at the viewer to remind us of the beauty that is Africa.
Private Collection
Mercer Island, Washington
Oil on paper, 38"x30" "No one comes anywhere near Tula when it comes to capturing the many faces of the Burundi people. Her paintings are a moving testimony to the resilience of Burundi's society as it is once again going through a major crisis. Her paintings send out a message of hope and do more to restrore faith in the future than anything I've seen or written."
Rene Lemarchand Professor Emeritus University of Florida
Charcoal on paper, 18"x24"
On my first day in Africa, I saw a woman walking down a rutted road with a basket on her head. Despite her poverty, she was heroic. I never painted her. I felt her power through the black and white of the charcoal.
Oil on paper, 18"x24"
This beautiful beggar appeared from the hillside and approached our tour bus. She had a lovely smile. There was no difference between us. Only that I had been blessed by the circumstances of my birth, and she lived in poverty in the poorest country on earth. Her image still haunts me.