“And there’s so much of my own that I can talk about instead.” “It’s just not really mine to tell, I’m starting to think,” Rosado said. So while she’s still drawing from her own life and portraying her relationships with the people in it, she’s tried to limit herself to the aspects of her loved ones that she’s directly witnessed. But she never wants her loved ones - be that family, Puerto Ricans or the queer community - to come under judgment as a result of her work.

It’d be dishonest to hide that, Rosado said. But there’s still an extra layer of newness to navigate as a Hispanic lesbian, even with accepting family. He and other family members have been supportive of Rosado and her sister since the siblings came out as queer, Rosado said. Last year, she entitled her Louisiana State University MFA thesis project “Si tiene su 401(k), it’s OK to be gay!” But she wants love to be apparent even in her more somber scenes. They’re joyful scenes, often with loved ones hugging each other and laughing together.

Layers of bold paint make their features leap off the canvas toward the viewer. She’s developed caricatures of each of them, emphasizing the differences in each member’s smile or taking care to portray them in familiar palettes. Rosado said she always knew she wanted to be an artist, and her family hasn’t objected to her depictions of them through the years. Her canvases celebrate the comfort of days spent sprawled in the living room, and the joy of multigenerational family reunions. As a gay woman whose family hails from Puerto Rico, she often paints herself in the same vivacious shapes she uses for portraits of her family, fiancee and pets.

Colorful wave brush stroke background