JLisette and her daughter Shannan

     Transformative Contemporary Artist 

        Janine Lisette McCray-Booker

In the quiet spaces between heartbeats, I found my voice again. When Shannan, my beloved daughter, departed this world in 2022 after her battle with ovarian cancer, I feared the silence would consume me. Instead, it became my canvas. The “Multifarious Collection” isn’t merely art—it’s the continuation of a conversation between mother and daughter that death tried but failed to silence. Each brushstroke carries the weight of my love, each color a memory preserved in acrylic, each 24×18 canvas a window into the magnificent spirit of the woman who made me a mother.

Shannan lived with unwavering courage. Even as her body weakened, her spirit remained undiminished—a warrior who transformed pain into purpose. These paintings echo her approach to life: bold, unapologetic, vibrant. The blues that sweep across my canvases mirror the depth of her eyes; the fierce reds capture her determination; the golds reflect the light she brought to everyone she touched.

Through this collection, I invite you to know Shannan—not through the lens of illness, but through celebration of her empowerment, resilience, and the eternal ripples of her existence. One canvas portrays her childhood laughter; another, her teenage dreams; yet another, her adult wisdom. Together, they create a tapestry of a life fully lived,abbreviated but never diminished.

Art has become my sanctuary—the place where grief transforms into creation rather than destruction. These works aren’t painted with sorrow, but with the profound gratitude for having been Shannan’s mother. They stand as testament that love doesn’t end when heartbeats do.

The “Multifarious Collection” is my declaration that Shannan’s story continues. In these paintings, she still dances. She still dreams. She still teaches us all how to face our darkest hours with grace. Through my hands, her spirit lives on- vibrant, uncontained, eternal.