Thy Name We Praise (section)

Suspended in glowing blue water, a woman in a flowing white dress drifts as if caught between floating and falling. Calida Rawles painted this with such care that the water almost looks real, with light rippling across the surface above and sunlight scattering through the depths. Her hyperrealistic style turns something as simple as a person in a pool into a quiet, dreamlike moment. The figure's face is hidden, letting us focus instead on the movement of her body and the way the fabric swirls around her.

For Rawles, water carries deep meaning. As a Black American artist, she uses it to explore themes of history, healing, and identity, drawing on both the painful past tied to water and its power to soothe and renew. The title, taken from a line of praise, hints at something spiritual, a sense of grace found in stillness. What looks at first like a peaceful swim becomes a meditation on freedom and the weight people carry, all wrapped in a scene that feels calm, beautiful, and full of feeling.