Misty Defying the Gravity of Limitation

A Painting in Tribute to Misty Copeland

This painting is a celebration of Misty Copeland—the first African American female principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre—and the legacy she continues to shape through grace, strength, and defiance of expectations.

Titled "Misty: Defying the Limitation of Gravitation," the work seeks to capture not only a moment of her extraordinary athleticism, but also the spirit of liberation that her story represents. It is an homage to her ability to soar beyond the boundaries imposed by history, tradition, and gravity itself. Misty’s leap becomes a metaphor for transcendence—of race, class, and circumstance.

A central intention of the painting is to strike a balance between realism and abstraction. Misty’s likeness is rendered with care and precision to honor her unique form, presence, and power. At the same time, the clouds and sky surrounding her evoke something dreamlike and symbolic—a realm where limitations dissolve and flight is possible. This duality aims to reflect not only her grounded determination but also the poetic, almost otherworldly nature of her journey.

Through this piece, I invite the viewer to see more than a dancer in motion. I hope you feel the labor behind the leap, the years of discipline, the silenced “no’s” she turned into “yes,” and the path she carved for others to follow. Misty’s story is not just about ballet. It’s about beauty that battles, and elegance that endures.

Poem: Misty in Motion

I.
She leapt from shadow into light,
barefoot on the edge of doubt,
a girl from motel rooms and silence
rising with the grace of thunder—
each muscle a memory refusing to break.

II.
They said her body broke the mold—
too strong, too dark, too much—but still
she danced past every narrow gate,
turned the stage into sky,
and carved her name into air.

III.
She does not fall—she floats
through storms with spine like iron.
Each pirouette is prophecy,
each leap a loud refusal
to bow to gravity’s rule.

IV.
Watch her: a blur of bone and fire
in motion so precise it aches.
This is how a dream survives—
not in ease, but in exertion,
not in silence, but in song.

V.
She moves for all the girls
who were told to wait their turn.
She dances not just for beauty—
but for belonging, for breath,
for a world she helped to widen.

Giclée Stretched Canvas Print:Giclee print on museum quality 410gsm polycotton canvas. Stretched on 1.5 inch pine wood and back wire. Ready to hang
Acrylic Print:1/8 (3mm) thick Digital grade Acrylic with back floating Frame of 1 inch thick. Ready to hang
Brushed Metal Print:3mm Brushed Metal Print with back floating Frame of 1 inch thick. Ready to hang
HD Sublimation Metal Print:High Gloss Sublimation on Chromalux Panel with back floating Frame of 1 inch thick. Ready to hang
Giclée Rolled Canvas Print:Giclee print on museum quality 410gsm polycotton canvas
Giclée Poster Satin Photo Paper Print:Giclee print on Resin coated Satin Photo Paper 240gsm
Giclée Fine Art Matte Paper Print:Giclee print on Fine Art Matte Paper
Framed Print:Mounted with Plexiglass and Frame. Ready to hang.