Pamella Allen Contemporary Art Studio
Pamella Allen’s mixed media works seek to create spaces of activation and connection, informed by memory, observation, culture, and ritual. In kinship with the natural world and the cyclical rhythm of life, death, and renewal, her practice spans portraits, collages, Kanko/mandalas, earthworks, and prose poetry. Each piece becomes both vessel and meditation, inviting audiences into a continuum of healing, transformation,
and dialogue between the personal and the universal.
What Sea Refuse
30”x30”x5” Quartz sand, cacoon and donkeys eye seeds, discarded children’s shoes washed up on the sea shore, stone,
mixed media silk screen prints on reclaimed wood.©️Pamella Allen 2025
"What Sea Refuse: Earthwork Reliefs" is a series born of walks along the waterways of Jamaica’s North Coast. Organic and inorganic artifacts, plastic fragments, children’s shoes, toys, mannequin heads, shells, driftwood, become symbols of what we discard and what the ocean returns to us. Compelled by the continual presence of refuse on the shorelines, I transform these remnants into conceptual works that speak to healing of self, waters, and earth. The currents spit back our waste in a gesture of cleansing, and through photographs and sculptural canvases, the work confronts our relationship with the natural world: the necessity of recycling, the urgency of protecting our ecoscapes, and the possibility of renewal through art. Each piece is both wound and salve, a meditation on what we toss away and what must be reclaimed.
Full Moon Sail on a Book Whose Words Cannot Be Seen
23”x16”x5”
Hand-made paper with fibers of the “Jamaican bark tree”, Fan Coral, deconstructed recycled literary book (Soul on Ice by Eldridge Cleever),Cacoon seed pod, Blue Mahoe pod, driftwood, acrylic and mixed media on canvas ©️Pamella Allen 2025
Breadfruit Leaf and a book with words that cannot be seen
39”x25”x1”
Hand made paper with pounded Jamaican Malabar Plum Tree & Tai Kozo fibers, recycled brown paper bag, deconstructed literary book pages,bamboo, botanical monoprints 1/1 on cotton,acrylic and mixed media on canvas ©️Pamella Allen 2025
Full Moon Sail on a Book Whose Words Cannot Be Seen
23”x16”x5”
Hand-made paper with fibers of the “Jamaican bark tree”, Fan Coral, deconstructed recycled literary book (Soul on Ice by Eldridge Cleever),Cacoon seed pod, Blue Mahoe pod, driftwood, acrylic and mixed media on canvas ©️Pamella Allen 2025
Breadfruit Leaf and a book with words that cannot be seen
39”x25”x1”
Hand made paper with pounded Jamaican Malabar Plum Tree & Tai Kozo fibers, recycled brown paper bag, deconstructed literary book pages,bamboo, botanical monoprints 1/1 on cotton,acrylic and mixed media on canvas ©️Pamella Allen 2025
The Mirror and the Earth: Portraits, Self-Studies, and Ancestral Memory
The Self as Ecosystem. In Pamella Allen’s studio practice, the portrait and the self-study do not exist as isolated studies of individual identity; they function as living vessels of memory, maternal lineage, and environmental kinship. When brought into direct conversation with her mixed media earthworks, What Sea Refuse, and the cosmic geometry of Inzalo y’Elanga (the Birthplace of the Sun), the portrait transforms into a spiritual and ecological mirror. The face is not separate from the landscape—it is formed by it, weathered by it, and healed through it.
The Face as Topography & Landscape as Lineage. In Pamella’s portraits and self-studies, the contours of the face,
skin, and eyes are rendered with the same textural density as her mixed media relief canvases. The Material Bridge: Just as shoreline moss from St. Ann, Tai Kozo paper fibers, and gathered earth form the physical substrate of her earthworks, the portrait.
Dragonfly & Sea Moss
31”x31”x3”
Acrylic,quartz sand, sea moss and mixed medium on canvas
©️Pamella Allen 2025
The text transcribed below is a prose piece from the body of the mandala about my experience with the dragonfly written while in the process of painting it:
“Xaymaca Xaymaca Xaymaca Xaymaca Xaymaca Dragonfly buzzed me in threes. Sid T and G Bella and D these beloveds came to me in Xaymaca Dragonfly lighted on my shoulder lighted on my shoulder in other lands Odonoda sings Ixchel back to life in Xaymaca Odonota sings Ixchel back to life in Xaymaca Odonoda sings Ixchel back to life in Xaymaca Odonoda in Xaymaca Odonoda in Xaymaca Odonoda in Xaymaca”
Xaymayca Word Mandala
34”x31”
acrylic, pen and Ink, quartz sand, seaweed and mixed media on canvas ©️Pamella Allen 2025
Xaymaca: From Mountains to Sea / Finding Mother in the Motherland
This series of abstract expressionist mixed media earthworks in relief marks my creative return "home" to Jamaica, the land called Xaymaca by the Taino. In seeking traces of my late mother, who passed in my infancy, I walk where she walked—embodying a connection to maternal lineage through the island’s naturescapes and people. These works investigate place, memory, and ancestral knowledge lost and found in the language of nature, object, and symbol. Continuing my decades‑long practice, I layer organic elements—seeds, shells, and stones—with discarded remnants gathered along Jamaica’s shores, including shoes, dolls, and plastic caps. These modern fragments of human presence are bound together with handmade papers crafted from banana, coconut, hemp, and Malabar plum fibers. Layered with deconstructed book pages and botanical monoprints of breadfruit, papaya, and pothos vines, the work speaks to ancestral voices obscured by time. Recurring imagery of the dragonfly, hummingbird, bamboo, and hibiscus mirror my earliest memories of Jamaica, serving as a continuous visual anchor for home, resilience, and transformation.
Are You Ruby’s Grandaughter III
Acrylic,and Mixed Media on Ply Wood
©️Pamella Allen 2025
Are You Ruby’s Grandaughter II
Acrylic, and Mixed Media on Ply Wood
©️Pamella Allen 2025
Are You Ruby’s Granddaughter?
19”x16”x4”
Acrylic, Fan Coral, and Mixed Media on Ply Wood
©️Pamella Allen 2025
Mother Pearl
19”x19”
Acrylic, pen & ink
and Mixed Media on Ply Wood
©️Pamella Allen 2025
Me & Memory
32”x46”x2” (framed)
Acrylic, sand, silk, photo print, and mixed media on canvas
©️Pamella Allen 2017
(Featured in, Brooklyn on My Mind, Black Visual Artists From the WPA to the Present by Myrah Brown Green)
This mixed-media self-study explores duality—the tension between holding on and letting go—grounded in the mystic of nature.
Incorporating the universal, therapeutic symbolism of the perfect circle, the work layers sand, silk,
and dragonfly imagery with photographic memories from Malawi, Long Island, and Dharamshala.
By weaving personal artifacts, repetitive forms, and earth elements like soil and sand,
these paintings create for the viewer a place of inspired peace, a place of meditation.
Paper Shell Mandala
43”x33”x5”
Casted hand-made paper with cotton rag, acrylic and kozo paper on muslin ©️Pamella Allen 2023
This series of handmade paper shells bridges discarded marine forms and recycled fibers to explore the cyclical nature of existence. By casting pulp from studio-gathered recycled fibers over global clam and lightning whelk shells, I replicate their forms and honor their memory with the lightest ecological footprint. Through this arduous, transformative process, the works reflect the fundamental teachings of the natural world: continuance, transformation, and the eternal cycle of life, death, and renewal.
Ahimsa
60"x60"x2"
Acrylic hand made paper, sand, quartz crystal & mixed media on canvas©️Pamella Allen 2017
[In Private Collection]
Ahimsa ("do no harm") is a meditation on peace and the universal human archetype of meditative calm, drawing from the shared faces of people across India, Jamaica, Kenya, and Spain. Developed over five years, the work evolved from memory sketches and clay sculpture into over 100 handmade paper relief sculptures collaged with fabric, graphite, and sand. Rooted in an ancient craft, the papermaking process itself mirrors nature's eternal cycles of life, death, and regeneration—a physical act of reconstruction born from deconstructed elements.
She & Dacta Bird
60" Diameter
Acrylic, glass, paper, quartz sand, pen & ink, and mixed media on canvas
©️Pamella Allen 2019
The Swallowtail Hummingbird, nicknamed “Dacta Bird” is the national bird of my homeland of Jamaica. It is said that the Tainos (Jamaicas first inhabitants) considered these birds to be the reincarnated souls of the ancestors and called them “the God bird”.
Hummingbirds are an inspiration and a recurring theme is my arts practice. Its wings beat to the shape of infinity figure 8) it can fly backward and upside down at will, its heart is the largest of all living creatures compared to its body size and every night the magical hummingbird
goes into a hibernation-like state called Torpor. The text or mantra in this work speaks to the symbology of, and my reverence for the hummingbird. "ma lung breathes in the natural mystic, the divine psychopan, the great turning with wings that beat to infinity". To create this series of mixed media paintings, I have appropriated the ritual, therapeutic and storytelling use of the perfect circle in cultures throughout history from Africa, to Asia and the Americas. To make these works, I use my own artifacts and archetypal images, the motion of repetitive form, the written word, and earth elements such as sand and soil to create a landscape grounded in the mystic of nature. The desire is to make a place of "one-ness" in the process of creating these works that translates to the viewer as a place of inspired peace.
DactaBird
30"x30"x2"
Acrylic. volcanic sand, citrine & mixed media on canvas
©️Pamella Allen 2020
The Doctor (Dacta) Bird, the [Swallow Tail Hummingbird] only exists on the island of Jamaica and is the national bird. It is said that the Tainos (Jamaicas first inhabitants) considered Doctor Birds to be the reincarnated souls of the ancestors and called them them “the God bird”. The hummingbird is a wonder! Its wings beat to the shape of infinity (the figure 8) it can fly backward and upside down at will, its heart is the largest of all living creatures compared to its body size and every night the magical hummingbird goes into a hibernation-like state called Torpor. Hummingbirds have inspired and amazed me all of my life and are a recurring theme is my arts practice. I have added the Semi-precious stone Citrine to the center of this painting to bring additional positive solar energy and vibrant flow to this magical work and everyone in the space it inhabits.
Humming Dragon
60"Diameter
Acrylic, volcanic sand,citrine, paper, and mixed media on canvas
©️Pamella Allen 2020
The Mandala, Sanskrit for circle, Kanko in Twi, Waka in Mossi, Denderedzwa in Shona, the dragonfly and the swallowtail hummingbird are symbols of resurgence and memory that recur throughout my work. In Mayan myth, dragonflies revived Ixchel, goddess of the moon, and across cultures they are seen as healers, messengers, and guides between worlds.This large piece was 10 years in the making, utilizing collage , print, painting and cutout techniques to build this work by painstakingly adding one image and one word at a time. “HummingDragon” ( transcribed text from the work) Ma Lung breaths in the natural mystic.Wings beat to shape infinity. Ma Lung breaths in the natural mystic.Ma Lung breaths in the natural mystic.The great psychopan. Moving between worlds. Ma Lung breaths in the natural mystic. Wings to beat to shape infinity. Ma Lung Breaths Love. Ma Lung breaths in the natural mystic. Odonoda Ma Lung breaths in the natural mystic. Odonoda moves in the 6 directions. Ma Lung breaths in the natural mystic. Ma Lung beats wings to shape infinity.
Bamboo, Papaya & The Golden Dragon
36”x24” Acrylic, nylon, paper & mixed media on canvas ©️Pamella Allen 2026
The mystic of the natural world that has me in a constant state of awe. Pamella Allen’s mixed media works seek to
create spaces of activation and connection, informed by
memory, observation, culture, and ritual.
In kinship with the natural world and the cyclical rhythm of life, death, and renewal. Each piece becomes both vessel and meditation, inviting audiences into a continuum of healing, transformation, and dialogue between
the personal and the universal.
Great Pond II
25”x20” Acrylic, handmade paper & mixed media on canvas ©️Pamella Allen 2026
The mystic of the natural world that has me in a constant state of awe. Pamella Allen’s mixed media works seek to create spaces of activation and connection, informed by memory, observation, culture, and ritual. In kinship with the natural world and the cyclical rhythm of life, death, and renewal. Each piece becomes both vessel and meditation, inviting audiences into a
continuum of healing, transformation, and dialogue
between the personal and the universal.
Great Pond I
25”x20” Acrylic, handmade paper, cattail reed & mixed media on canvas ©️Pamella Allen 2026
The mystic of the natural world that has me in a constant state of awe. These mixed media works seek to create spaces of activation and connection, informed by memory, observation, culture, and ritual. In kinship with the natural world and the cyclical rhythm of life, death, and renewal. Each piece becomes both vessel and meditation, inviting audiences into a continuum of healing, transformation, and dialogue between the
personal and the universal.
NduNduKuro
30 ”x37”
Acrylic & mixed media on canvas ©️Pamella Allen 2026
The mystic of the natural world that has me in a
constant state of awe. These mixed media works seek to create spaces of activation and connection, informed by memory, observation, culture, and ritual. In kinship with the natural world and the cyclical rhythm of life, death, and renewal. Each piece becomes both vessel and meditation, inviting audiences into a continuum of healing, transformation, and dialogue between the
personal and the universal.
Blues
48”x36”x1”
Acrylic & mixed media on canvas
©️Pamella Allen 2022
The self-study is a tool to see myself beyond the everyday mirror—a search for place and belonging. In the blue mystery, a safe space shimmers with copper earth elements, where barely discernible continuous lines capture form for a fleeting moment in time.
Ella II
28”x22”x1”
Acrylic & mixed media on canvas
©️Pamella Allen 2018
My portraits are acts of reclamation—a way to make visible what society seeks to erase. Rooted in the memory of a singular focal portrait of my late mother, my figures meet the viewer with a direct, unyielding gaze, piercing through the haze of lived experience. Balanced by recurring motifs of water, sky, and flowers, these works transform absence into presence, offering a space of clarity, connection, and emotional equilibrium for both creator and viewer.
Cut Piece
12x8”
Acrylic & mixed media on canvas
©️Pamella Allen 2026
My portraits are acts of reclamation—a way to make visible what society seeks to erase. Rooted in the memory of a singular focal portrait of my late mother, my figures meet the viewer with a direct, unyielding gaze, piercing through the haze of lived experience. Balanced by recurring motifs of water, sky, and flowers, these works transform absence into presence, offering a space of clarity, connection, and emotional equilibrium for both creator and viewer.
U R Golden
28” Diameter
Acrylic, pen and ink & mixed media on canvas
©️Pamella Allen 2018
U R Golden, it is a truth that is also the title of this piece. My works are years in the making, millions of hours in the creating and layered in lifetimes of experience. The process is also the point, like in life it is the journey that makes the destination
Tara & The Dragon (Blu Dragon)
60"Diameter
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
©️ Pamella Allen 2019
This mandala merges previous works—
BabyGirl Tara and A Peace—with buried prose inspired by dragonfly creation mythology. Using ritual repetition, personal artifacts, and earth elements like sand and soil, this mixed-media piece creates a grounded landscape of oneness, bridging nature's mystic and healing resilience.
Pamella
48”x36”
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas ©️Pamella Allen 2022
These are portraits that speak to our interconnected experience of nature, memory, and spirit. The figures are often solitary—gazing directly at the viewer or lowering their eyes in reverence—as if holding space for meditation. These portraits invite reflection on our shared humanity and our kinship with the natural world. In this series of acrylic portraits, I am only using two or three colors with intention. By limiting the palette, I invite a deeper dialogue between form, color, and emotion, allowing each hue to carry symbolic weight and resonance. This restraint becomes a discipline, a way of listening to the truth of the first lines and amplifying their purity rather than obscuring them.
The first lines—graphite marks on rice paper—hold a meditative flow, a rhythm of thought and gesture that guides the evolution of each work. In preserving their integrity, I honor the stories they tell: liquid narratives of how we hold space in our natural and spiritual landscapes. These lines are not merely beginnings; they are vessels of memory, spirit, and presence.
Through this process, the portraits become more than representation. They embody creative evolution itself—beginning in mind, thought, and action, and unfolding into layered meditations on humanity. Each work is both personal and universal, a reminder of our interconnectedness with nature, with lineage, and with each other.
Brianna
42”x34”
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas ©️Pamella Allen 2022
In this series of acrylic portraits, I am only using two or three colors with intention. By limiting the palette, I invite a deeper dialogue between form, color, and emotion, allowing each hue to carry symbolic weight and resonance. This restraint becomes a discipline, a way of listening to the truth of the first lines and amplifying their purity rather than obscuring them.
The first lines—graphite marks on rice paper—hold a meditative flow, a rhythm of thought and gesture that guides the evolution of each work. In preserving their integrity, I honor the stories they tell: liquid narratives of how we hold space in our natural and spiritual landscapes. These lines are not merely beginnings; they are vessels of memory, spirit, and presence.
Through this process, the portraits become more than representation. They embody creative evolution itself—beginning in mind, thought, and action, and unfolding into layered meditations on humanity. Each work is both personal and universal, a reminder of our interconnectedness with nature, with lineage, and with each other.
Michelle
32”x32”
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
©️Pamella Allen 2022
In this series of acrylic portraits, I am only using two or three colors with intention. By limiting the palette, I invite a deeper dialogue between form, color, and emotion, allowing each hue to carry symbolic weight and resonance. This restraint becomes a discipline, a way of listening to the truth of the first lines and amplifying their purity rather than obscuring them.
Summersnow
30”x24”
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
©️Pamella Allen 2022
In this series of acrylic portraits, I am only using two or three colors with intention. By limiting the palette, I invite a deeper dialogue between form, color, and emotion, allowing each hue to carry symbolic weight and resonance. This restraint becomes a discipline, a way of listening to the truth of the first lines and amplifying their purity rather than obscuring them.
Olivia
31”x20”
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
©️Pamella Allen 2022
Everything begins with the first lines. My graphite drawings on rice paper—created as the foundation for portraits and nature studies—carry a purity and flow that often shifts once other media are applied. Over the years, I have amassed hundreds of these drawings. In keeping with my cyclical process of life–death–life, I deconstruct them, along with prints and paintings, to create new compositions on canvas.
Sabina
32”x22.5”
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
©️Pamella Allen 2022
In this series of acrylic portraits, I am only using two or three colors with intention. By limiting the palette, I invite a deeper dialogue between form, color, and emotion, allowing each hue to carry symbolic weight and resonance. This restraint becomes a discipline, a way of listening to the truth of the first lines and amplifying their purity rather than obscuring them.
She Shell
48”x36”x1”
Acrylic & mixed media on canvas
©️Pamella Allen
Everything begins with the first lines. My graphite drawings on rice paper—created as the foundation for portraits and nature studies—carry a purity and flow that often shifts once other media are applied. Over the years, I have amassed hundreds of these drawings. In keeping with my cyclical process of life–death–life, I deconstruct them, along with prints and paintings, to create new compositions on canvas.
She Shell Progeny
28”x22”x1”
Acrylic & mixed media on canvas
©️Pamella Allen 2022
In this series of acrylic portraits, I am only using two or three colors with intention. By limiting the palette, I invite a deeper dialogue between form, color, and emotion, allowing each hue to carry symbolic weight and resonance. This restraint becomes a discipline, a way of listening to the truth of the first lines and amplifying their purity rather than obscuring them.