When Alyne Harris was little, she and her sisters often played in a nearby cemetery, where many of their family members were buried. There, Alyne felt herself happy among the heavenly spirits. She started drawing pictures in the mud and sand, and much later, drawing heavily from African-American traditions, her works would come to feature angels, church scenes, local folks, farm vignettes, and gardens filled with animals, bees and birds. The first time I spotted one of her paintings — a little country church in winter, with two red cardinals in the trees — I almost cried at its simplistic beauty, then bought that painting for my best friend’s wedding. According to Visionary Art…”Like gospel music, Harris’ work expresses spontaneous devotion to the life of the spirit — not only in sacred settings, but also in everyday life.”