48” X  28.5”
Acrylic on unstretched canvas
Price: $1500

This piece, which is part of my collection The Underprivileged Oasis, represents a struggle. It highlights the inner city plight of Black people—the strategic placement of liquor stores, and the inability to trust those who the community views as outsiders. I've been detached from my community for thirty years, and about twenty years ago I began creating these snapshots of my life's experiences as a way of seeing myself still in my community. 

I started seeing injustices inflicted upon these underprivileged communities. The common denominator has always been the watering holes—liquor stores. I also understood why outreach attempts in these communities fail so often. Notice the soapbox preacher and the NOI (Nation of Islam) member on the fringes of the composition. Not a single character in the piece is focused in their direction—their outreach is ineffective. In order to be effective, those who wish to have an impact must move away from the fringes and immerse themselves into “the shadows” in order to have any success at all. Become a part of the culture and change it from within.

25" x 38.75"
Acrylic on unstretched canvas
PRICE: $900

This piece is indicative of the choices we are sometimes faced with; how what we decide impacts others around us. And how, in most cases, there are ample motivations for better choices. Consider a person who sells illegal drugs on the street. Everyday encounters with both living and inanimate objects can serve as guideposts. Take for instance, the stop sign in this composition — the damage of the sign makes it prevalent. It may go unnoticed by many, but to the person who's thinking he/she should "stop" dealing drugs it could be a source of confirmation. Next thing you know, your eye finds the word "STOP" somewhere else in the piece. What in your own life might you need to STOP? Personally, I did not take heed to these guideposts. So I recognize them now from a position of consequence.

28.75” x 29.5”
Acrylic on unstretched canvas
PRICE : $700

It would be a huge mistake to assume that only bad or illegal things happen at the community liquor store. You can also find a sense of community there too. Honestly, I believe that these urban "watering holes" do a great deal of harm to the community. But when Sister Johnson's family needs help making rent, it's never the big box stores who come to the aid. These are the spaces that allow out of towners to sleep overnight in motorhomes and eighteen wheelers. I left the Walmart parking lot bare because I wanted to convey a sense of it being void of community.

24” x 18” 
4 piece composite, acrylic and colored pencil on paper 
Price: NFS

I created Survivor Flower out of my desire to give a friend some comfort during her ongoing bout with cancer. I connected with her sense of helplessness against an unseen enemy.  Resister and Strength were created for two other survivors. “Rosie The Riveter” represents a universal sign of strength to a lot of women I know. I also wanted to depict this strength throughout the many cultures, classes and colors of women.

Making art to heal wasn't enough for me. I needed to make a connection with the people I wanted to help, so I chose to paint in composites. To deliver my final brush stroke, I needed my community to engage in my craft with me. Together we would unpack it and put the pieces together as best we could. That's all any good and decent society can offer its citizens. Despite my convict status, I still consider free people, my brothers and sisters. My desire to show up for them is driven by my eternal search for a deeper meaning of redemption than reality can offer. One benefit of being an artist is the ability to create what was first just an idea in my mind. I spent a lot of time in prison learning how to get over, under, and around barriers. Coming to the aid of a hurting friend is perhaps the strongest reason why I endorse this act of resistance.

18” x 24”
‍4 piece composite, acrylic and colored pencil on paper
Price:  $400

I created Survivor Flower out of my desire to give a friend some comfort during her ongoing bout with cancer. I connected with her sense of helplessness against an unseen enemy.  Resister and Strength were created for two other survivors. “Rosie The Riveter” represents a universal sign of strength to a lot of women I know. I also wanted to depict this strength throughout the many cultures, classes and colors of women.

Making art to heal wasn't enough for me. I needed to make a connection with the people I wanted to help, so I chose to paint in composites. To deliver my final brush stroke, I needed my community to engage in my craft with me. Together we would unpack it and put the pieces together as best we could. That's all any good and decent society can offer its citizens. Despite my convict status, I still consider free people, my brothers and sisters. My desire to show up for them is driven by my eternal search for a deeper meaning of redemption than reality can offer. One benefit of being an artist is the ability to create what was first just an idea in my mind. I spent a lot of time in prison learning how to get over, under, and around barriers. Coming to the aid of a hurting friend is perhaps the strongest reason why I endorse this act of resistance.

22” x 17”
2 piece composite, acrylic and colored pencil on paper
Price:  $400

I created Survivor Flower out of my desire to give a friend some comfort during her ongoing bout with cancer. I connected with her sense of helplessness against an unseen enemy.  Resister and Strength were created for two other survivors. “Rosie The Riveter” represents a universal sign of strength to a lot of women I know. I also wanted to depict this strength throughout the many cultures, classes and colors of women.

Making art to heal wasn't enough for me. I needed to make a connection with the people I wanted to help, so I chose to paint in composites. To deliver my final brush stroke, I needed my community to engage in my craft with me. Together we would unpack it and put the pieces together as best we could. That's all any good and decent society can offer its citizens. Despite my convict status, I still consider free people, my brothers and sisters. My desire to show up for them is driven by my eternal search for a deeper meaning of redemption than reality can offer. One benefit of being an artist is the ability to create what was first just an idea in my mind. I spent a lot of time in prison learning how to get over, under, and around barriers. Coming to the aid of a hurting friend is perhaps the strongest reason why I endorse this act of resistance.

48”X 44”
‍Acrylic on Canvas Board
Price: $4000

The disenfranchisement of people with felony convictions disproportionately affects people of color. Who does it serve? What do they fear? Absolute power does not corrupt absolutely. It is the fear of losing absolute power that corrupts.

Clockwise from Top Left:

‍Mandela votes in 1994
‍18” x 24”
‍Price: $1050

Nelson Mandela cast his vote in 1994, four years after serving 27 years in prison. He is then elected President of South Africa. An inspirational and historic event that marked a turning point. The quote on the ballot is Mandela's own words.

‍Tethered Freedoms
‍16” x 20”
‍Price:  $500

Home of the Free? After serving prison terms in the United States, many returning citizens suffer ongoing limitations (both structural and systemic) that diminish, dismiss, or disregard them as citizens despite their rehabilitative endeavors. These impediments act as invisible shackles on life that discourage reintegration and inhibit the fulfillment of obligations to that same system.

‍Anonymous Tyranny
‍18” x 24”
‍Price: $1050

The politics of the United States are subjugated and dominated by big money "special" interests. The depth of that control is cloaked by ambiguity. When the ability to cast a vote is hampered...who benefits? The Taíno symbol for the sun behind the individual offers illumination into behavior. As the button on the lapel states, "I" voted, it implies, “no one else's vote matters” while he burns a ballot.

Hope's Peril
16” x 20”
‍Price:$450

The enduring gift from Pandora's Box seems to be appropriate here. Hope manifesting as a butterfly, emblematic of a fundamental change of heart and mind in the midst of challenging circumstances. A change that shifts human consciousness. Yet there are elements that will resist change. We are all aware of the self-serving serpentine dangers of unchecked power. Even more dangerous are its spectral counterparts.

30.5” x 20.75”
Acrylic on homemade canvas, with homemade gesso
Price: $600

This painting depicts the shared impacts between the free world and prison. The top dogs who are controlling society pollute without abandon or care. They knowingly are killing the Earth and her inhabitants, without worrying about paying taxes or fines.

We who are now on mental health behavior modification, see ourselves as able and uniquely useful. We had problems making society suffer, now we have solutions. We see not what's being presented to us, but what is!  We have insight and empathy, with love in our hearts. 

Top dogs are mass murderers for profit and responsible for lower IQs, lead levels in our blood and high cancer rates. With urgency we need real programs like WPA from the past. We need to expose, arrest and hold those accountable for killing you all and Mother Earth! To do so we need a voice and an old fashioned political movement to join and follow. One with policies like nationalizing all energy, prioritizing Earth and inhabitants over industrialist's production and profitability! Start by cleaning up the toxic poison, plastics and heavy nuclear waste killing the ocean!

23.5” X 27.5” 
Acrylic on deconstructed canvas, tape, and junk food wrappers 
Price: $2400

From within prison or inserted back into society I choose to fight for the Earth, to be conscientious of the well being of other creatures beyond myself, even if at times I feel I’m standing alone. I will do my best to uplift and encourage others to do the same, to consume less, to use earth friendly packaging, re-use, re-invent, re-purpose, re-cycle.

Single-use disposable plastics and non-biodegradable waste are steadily accumulating, toxifying our shared lands and water. The survival of so many creatures depends on the choices we make today. We’re running out of time. The stars attest that among the cosmos of the universe our planet is an anomaly; a one in a billion perfect combination of elements that allow for all of earth’s wondrous creation to co-exist. 

Colorado prison rules forced me to remove the stretcher bars from my canvas, leaving the edges raw and holes from the staples.

18” by 24”
‍Acrylic on deconstructed canvas
Price: $2400

While I have been incarcerated there have been so many devastating wildfires. Watching California burn from behind bars was heart wrenching. In the fantasy world of my dreams I stole Barrat (the heavenly white stallion that carries the messengers of God) and together we vanquished these fires. When I am released, I hope to immerse myself in the wilderness that remains largely untouched by development and forest fires, inserting myself to help replant indigenous plants and trees in burn areas.
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In this visceral, material world of concrete and steel I am presently confined to, it's easy to overlook I am a spiritual being composed of light and love that transcends all boundaries. The intangible fabric of prayers and dreams are what bind this world together. Without them we are hopeless and lost. We must believe that prayers and dreams can heal, can set the persecuted free, can fortify and initiate peace, and can bring sunlight and rain where they are needed.Inshallah.
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Colorado prison rules forced me to remove the stretcher bars from my canvas, leaving the edges raw and holes from the staples.

16” X 19” each
‍3rd generation linocut, bedsheets, mixed mediums, graphite, charcoal, and soil from the prison yard at F.C.I. Fairton on wood panels
Price: $2500 each

These panels are part of an ongoing study and series I’m currently working on. I’m exploring the way society sees the physical bodies of individuals in the carceral state. They are reduced to the architectural spaces they occupy and never materialize as slices of humanity. However, you can't visualize a place you've never been, you can only make assumptions about those spaces, and the people that are incarcerated there.
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Figures emerge from the “shadows” to represent individuals that have been “othered” and banished to these far away compounds, usually in rural areas. They start to have facial features and look different from one another—you can't take their identity from them. Even though the carceral state has othered these individuals, they're still part of the society—used when bolstering voting districts, so they must matter somehow.

‍21" x 17" framed
Acrylic and ink on canvas board
Price: $500

Death of Captivity represents the current barriers to creating solutions in our society. Solutions to end oppressive cultural norms like the lie that we must be violent to prove we're a man. Solutions to end cycles of gun violence that plague our communities.

We can't cage our way out of a problem by locking away role models like fathers and mothers so they are unable to participate in showing youth there is a better way. There is no more vital resource than one's parents or loved one. The people we lock up are best suited to help shape policies that better serve the communities we come from.The chains in white are like bones buried beneath the ground—symbolizing death. It is only when captivity ends that we re-enter the world and emerge as beauty, represented by California poppies set against a hopeful sky.

Follow me on Instagram @Jessiemiloart and sign my petition for freedom on change.org by searching for Jessie Milo.

11" x 14"  
‍Pen, ink and watercolor  
Price: $500

ARTIST STATEMENT

‍I am an artivist, a humorist and my work combines illustration, journalism, and personal history to expose human rights abuses around the world. I work primarily as a comics artist. The unique storytelling style of comics led me to pivot to using the medium as a way to expose and share truth through illustrative journalism. Art is my vehicle for sharing ideas, knowledge, truth and inspiration. The works in this gallery represent that exploration. 

My ongoing, serial works “The Grueling Report” and the “O. Smith Perspective” are the results of my truth-telling endeavor. I use the power of illustration to unveil images that would otherwise remain behind the prison walls. “O.Smith Perspectives” are specifically op-ed illustrated documentary panels. These works invite the viewer to imagine the stories, realities, and lives of the many people currently incarcerated in San Quentin and beyond. My “Protest Poster” series focuses on current social issues fused with cos-play and hidden aliens. Each character displays picket signs with wise—sometimes comical—quotes from an array of historical figures, entertainers, writers, or world leaders. This is my way of pointing out injustice and human rights abuses all around the world.

The rest of my works on display are my reflections about events in society— glimpses of what is to come or what has already happened. Every event has a ripple effect whether you are a free person or a bonded person— we are all people in society.

6.75" x 9.75"  
‍Pen, ink and watercolor  
Price: $80

ARTIST STATEMENT

‍I am an artivist, a humorist and my work combines illustration, journalism, and personal history to expose human rights abuses around the world. I work primarily as a comics artist. The unique storytelling style of comics led me to pivot to using the medium as a way to expose and share truth through illustrative journalism. Art is my vehicle for sharing ideas, knowledge, truth and inspiration. The works in this gallery represent that exploration. 

My ongoing, serial works “The Grueling Report” and the “O. Smith Perspective” are the results of my truth-telling endeavor. I use the power of illustration to unveil images that would otherwise remain behind the prison walls. “O.Smith Perspectives” are specifically op-ed illustrated documentary panels. These works invite the viewer to imagine the stories, realities, and lives of the many people currently incarcerated in San Quentin and beyond. My “Protest Poster” series focuses on current social issues fused with cos-play and hidden aliens. Each character displays picket signs with wise—sometimes comical—quotes from an array of historical figures, entertainers, writers, or world leaders. This is my way of pointing out injustice and human rights abuses all around the world.

The rest of my works on display are my reflections about events in society— glimpses of what is to come or what has already happened. Every event has a ripple effect whether you are a free person or a bonded person— we are all people in society.

‍17” x 11”
‍Pencil, colored pencils, pencil blenders, colored pens, brush pens, and markers on paper
Price: $150 + SQ news OpEd where it was published

ARTIST STATEMENT
‍
I am an artivist, a humorist and my work combines illustration, journalism, and personal history to expose human rights abuses around the world. I work primarily as a comics artist. The unique storytelling style of comics led me to pivot to using the medium as a way to expose and share truth through illustrative journalism. Art is my vehicle for sharing ideas, knowledge, truth and inspiration. The works in this gallery represent that exploration. 
‍
My ongoing, serial works “The Grueling Report” and the “O. Smith Perspective” are the results of my truth-telling endeavor. I use the power of illustration to unveil images that would otherwise remain behind the prison walls. “O.Smith Perspectives” are specifically op-ed illustrated documentary panels. These works invite the viewer to imagine the stories, realities, and lives of the many people currently incarcerated in San Quentin and beyond. My “Protest Poster” series focuses on current social issues fused with cos-play and hidden aliens. Each character displays picket signs with wise—sometimes comical—quotes from an array of historical figures, entertainers, writers, or world leaders. This is my way of pointing out injustice and human rights abuses all around the world.
‍
The rest of my works on display are my reflections about events in society— glimpses of what is to come or what has already happened. Every event has a ripple effect whether you are a free person or a bonded person— we are all people in society.

‍22.5” x 17”
‍Pencil, colored pencils, pencil blenders, colored pens, brush pens, and markers on paper
Price: $400

ARTIST STATEMENT

‍I am an artivist, a humorist and my work combines illustration, journalism, and personal history to expose human rights abuses around the world. I work primarily as a comics artist. The unique storytelling style of comics led me to pivot to using the medium as a way to expose and share truth through illustrative journalism. Art is my vehicle for sharing ideas, knowledge, truth and inspiration. The works in this gallery represent that exploration. 

My ongoing, serial works “The Grueling Report” and the “O. Smith Perspective” are the results of my truth-telling endeavor. I use the power of illustration to unveil images that would otherwise remain behind the prison walls. “O.Smith Perspectives” are specifically op-ed illustrated documentary panels. These works invite the viewer to imagine the stories, realities, and lives of the many people currently incarcerated in San Quentin and beyond. My “Protest Poster” series focuses on current social issues fused with cos-play and hidden aliens. Each character displays picket signs with wise—sometimes comical—quotes from an array of historical figures, entertainers, writers, or world leaders. This is my way of pointing out injustice and human rights abuses all around the world.

The rest of my works on display are my reflections about events in society— glimpses of what is to come or what has already happened. Every event has a ripple effect whether you are a free person or a bonded person— we are all people in society.

26” x 20” 
Pencil, colored pencils, pencil blenders, colored pens, brush pens, and markers on paper
Price: $500

ARTIST STATEMENT

‍I am an artivist, a humorist and my work combines illustration, journalism, and personal history to expose human rights abuses around the world. I work primarily as a comics artist. The unique storytelling style of comics led me to pivot to using the medium as a way to expose and share truth through illustrative journalism. Art is my vehicle for sharing ideas, knowledge, truth and inspiration. The works in this gallery represent that exploration. 

My ongoing, serial works “The Grueling Report” and the “O. Smith Perspective” are the results of my truth-telling endeavor. I use the power of illustration to unveil images that would otherwise remain behind the prison walls. “O.Smith Perspectives” are specifically op-ed illustrated documentary panels. These works invite the viewer to imagine the stories, realities, and lives of the many people currently incarcerated in San Quentin and beyond. My “Protest Poster” series focuses on current social issues fused with cos-play and hidden aliens. Each character displays picket signs with wise—sometimes comical—quotes from an array of historical figures, entertainers, writers, or world leaders. This is my way of pointing out injustice and human rights abuses all around the world.

The rest of my works on display are my reflections about events in society— glimpses of what is to come or what has already happened. Every event has a ripple effect whether you are a free person or a bonded person— we are all people in society.

9” x 12”   
Pen, ink, colored pencils, and watercolor on paper
Price: $500

ARTIST STATEMENT

‍I am an artivist, a humorist and my work combines illustration, journalism, and personal history to expose human rights abuses around the world. I work primarily as a comics artist. The unique storytelling style of comics led me to pivot to using the medium as a way to expose and share truth through illustrative journalism. Art is my vehicle for sharing ideas, knowledge, truth and inspiration. The works in this gallery represent that exploration. 

My ongoing, serial works “The Grueling Report” and the “O. Smith Perspective” are the results of my truth-telling endeavor. I use the power of illustration to unveil images that would otherwise remain behind the prison walls. “O.Smith Perspectives” are specifically op-ed illustrated documentary panels. These works invite the viewer to imagine the stories, realities, and lives of the many people currently incarcerated in San Quentin and beyond. My “Protest Poster” series focuses on current social issues fused with cos-play and hidden aliens. Each character displays picket signs with wise—sometimes comical—quotes from an array of historical figures, entertainers, writers, or world leaders. This is my way of pointing out injustice and human rights abuses all around the world.

The rest of my works on display are my reflections about events in society— glimpses of what is to come or what has already happened. Every event has a ripple effect whether you are a free person or a bonded person— we are all people in society.

17” x 11”  
Pen, ink, colored pencils, marker on paper
Price: NFS

ARTIST STATEMENT

‍I am an artivist, a humorist and my work combines illustration, journalism, and personal history to expose human rights abuses around the world. I work primarily as a comics artist. The unique storytelling style of comics led me to pivot to using the medium as a way to expose and share truth through illustrative journalism. Art is my vehicle for sharing ideas, knowledge, truth and inspiration. The works in this gallery represent that exploration. 

My ongoing, serial works “The Grueling Report” and the “O. Smith Perspective” are the results of my truth-telling endeavor. I use the power of illustration to unveil images that would otherwise remain behind the prison walls. “O.Smith Perspectives” are specifically op-ed illustrated documentary panels. These works invite the viewer to imagine the stories, realities, and lives of the many people currently incarcerated in San Quentin and beyond. My “Protest Poster” series focuses on current social issues fused with cos-play and hidden aliens. Each character displays picket signs with wise—sometimes comical—quotes from an array of historical figures, entertainers, writers, or world leaders. This is my way of pointing out injustice and human rights abuses all around the world.

The rest of my works on display are my reflections about events in society— glimpses of what is to come or what has already happened. Every event has a ripple effect whether you are a free person or a bonded person— we are all people in society.

22.5" x 14.5"
‍Micron pens, gel ink, water color, colored pencils, pencil blenders, sharpie colored markers, ink brushes on paper
Price: $450

ARTIST STATEMENT
‍
‍I am an artivist, a humorist and my work combines illustration, journalism, and personal history to expose human rights abuses around the world. I work primarily as a comics artist. The unique storytelling style of comics led me to pivot to using the medium as a way to expose and share truth through illustrative journalism. Art is my vehicle for sharing ideas, knowledge, truth and inspiration. The works in this gallery represent that exploration. 

My ongoing, serial works “The Grueling Report” and the “O. Smith Perspective” are the results of my truth-telling endeavor. I use the power of illustration to unveil images that would otherwise remain behind the prison walls. “O.Smith Perspectives” are specifically op-ed illustrated documentary panels. These works invite the viewer to imagine the stories, realities, and lives of the many people currently incarcerated in San Quentin and beyond. My “Protest Poster” series focuses on current social issues fused with cos-play and hidden aliens. Each character displays picket signs with wise—sometimes comical—quotes from an array of historical figures, entertainers, writers, or world leaders. This is my way of pointing out injustice and human rights abuses all around the world.

The rest of my works on display are my reflections about events in society— glimpses of what is to come or what has already happened. Every event has a ripple effect whether you are a free person or a bonded person— we are all people in society.

17” x 11”
Pens, pen brush, colored pencils, and blender pencils on paper 
Price: $150

ARTIST STATEMENT

‍I am an artivist, a humorist and my work combines illustration, journalism, and personal history to expose human rights abuses around the world. I work primarily as a comics artist. The unique storytelling style of comics led me to pivot to using the medium as a way to expose and share truth through illustrative journalism. Art is my vehicle for sharing ideas, knowledge, truth and inspiration. The works in this gallery represent that exploration. 

My ongoing, serial works “The Grueling Report” and the “O. Smith Perspective” are the results of my truth-telling endeavor. I use the power of illustration to unveil images that would otherwise remain behind the prison walls. “O.Smith Perspectives” are specifically op-ed illustrated documentary panels. These works invite the viewer to imagine the stories, realities, and lives of the many people currently incarcerated in San Quentin and beyond. My “Protest Poster” series focuses on current social issues fused with cos-play and hidden aliens. Each character displays picket signs with wise—sometimes comical—quotes from an array of historical figures, entertainers, writers, or world leaders. This is my way of pointing out injustice and human rights abuses all around the world.

The rest of my works on display are my reflections about events in society— glimpses of what is to come or what has already happened. Every event has a ripple effect whether you are a free person or a bonded person— we are all people in society.

15" x 22.5" 
Pen, ink, colored pencils, and watercolor on paper
Price: $400

ARTIST STATEMENT

‍I am an artivist, a humorist and my work combines illustration, journalism, and personal history to expose human rights abuses around the world. I work primarily as a comics artist. The unique storytelling style of comics led me to pivot to using the medium as a way to expose and share truth through illustrative journalism. Art is my vehicle for sharing ideas, knowledge, truth and inspiration. The works in this gallery represent that exploration. 

My ongoing, serial works “The Grueling Report” and the “O. Smith Perspective” are the results of my truth-telling endeavor. I use the power of illustration to unveil images that would otherwise remain behind the prison walls. “O.Smith Perspectives” are specifically op-ed illustrated documentary panels. These works invite the viewer to imagine the stories, realities, and lives of the many people currently incarcerated in San Quentin and beyond. My “Protest Poster” series focuses on current social issues fused with cos-play and hidden aliens. Each character displays picket signs with wise—sometimes comical—quotes from an array of historical figures, entertainers, writers, or world leaders. This is my way of pointing out injustice and human rights abuses all around the world.

The rest of my works on display are my reflections about events in society— glimpses of what is to come or what has already happened. Every event has a ripple effect whether you are a free person or a bonded person— we are all people in society.