A local artist’s work was chosen for the cover of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail’s recently released 2018 Travel Guide.

P.J. Lewis has spent a good majority of her life as an artist, and works in several media. She was surprised when she received an email from a person with the magazine asking about a watercolor she had done of Rosa Parks seated on the famous bus in Montgomery.

“When I first painted it, I didn’t think anything of it,” Lesie said. I remember it being a Sunday. It was a good day and it took me about 30-45 minutes to paint,” Lewis said.

“It was a part of a series I was painting, about life-changing women. I never intended or expected it to be on the cover of a magazine.”

Lewis says she’s extremely proud.

“I’m so proud, not only because it’s my work, but because it’s such an important cause. Civil rights have always been an issue very close to my heart,” she said.

The Civil Rights Trail begins with the site of school integration and makes it’s way to Washington, D.C.

The trail is made up of more than 100 destinations spanning 14 states, including museums, churches, courthouses and other significant monuments.

The purpose of the trail is to show unknown sites where important things happened during the civil rights movement.

“I never expected for my art to be selected for the cover of the magazine,” Lewis said.

Lewis regularly shows her work at the LAAC’s The Gallery, and also is a part of Fine Arts America where there is an option to purchase her work.

To see more of her work, visit https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/p-j-lewis.html.