Harmonia Rosales, an Afro-Cuban artist, has gone viral for her oil paintings — her most controversial being her reimagining of Michelangelo’s "The Creation of Adam" which she titled "Creation of God."

The painting depicts God as a black woman, which ignited a lot of attention, including that from stars such as Samuel L. Jackson, Willow Smith and even Erykah Badu. While it received praise from many, it did also provoke some internet trolls.

'I Exist' 56.5"h x 45"w #objectification #art #oilpainting #woman #womenempowerment #melanin #angels #naturalbeauty #rust

A post shared by Harmonia (@honeiee) on Sep 20, 2017 at 6:58am PDT

During her first art show in Los Angeles, Rosales shared that she was shocked because of the negative comments, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"People said, 'God should not be a black or Muslim or anything like that,' and that tells me that what I'm doing is not only what needs to be done, but I need to keep going," the Chicago native said. "This concept is not fact. Why have we accepted this image of God being a white male for so long? We should start asking ourselves why."

Rosales also debuted a new collection of paintings in her first gallery exhibit, Black Imaginary to Counter Hegemony, which was displayed at downtown LA’s Simard Bilodeau Contemporary and featured her recreations of Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus" and the Virgin Mary. She also debuted a piece titled "Lioness."

"The Creation of God" ….we all are created in "Gods" image. #melanin #painting #art #chicago #god #clouds #oilpainting #womenempowerment

A post shared by Harmonia (@honeiee) on May 5, 2017 at 12:33pm PDT

“I used this particular image of Michelangelo's 'The Creation of Adam' to deconstruct the old traditional way of thought. Why not take that same image and replace it with the least represented, which is the black woman? The original concept here is Michelangelo created the hidden message of a brain but in replacing God here as a black woman, you see a womb. So it shows strength and empowerment and that we are more valuable than we think,” said Rosales about "The Creation of God," according to the Los Angeles Times.

'The Birth of Oshun' 55"h x 67"w #africa #santeria #oilpainting #womenempowerment #gold #peacock #ocean #art #vitiligo #melanin

A post shared by Harmonia (@honeiee) on Sep 18, 2017 at 8:34am PDT

As for her take on "The Birth of Venus," which she titled "The Birth of Oshun," Rosales stated:

"Here is my take on the painting 'The Birth of Venus.' I wanted to show how we are more similar than we are not. Greek mythology is very similar to the religion Santaria. The goddesses and Orishas are very similar. You have Oshun which is Venus. Traditionally, we see Venus as this beautiful woman with flowy hair. My hair never flowed, so I'm wondering why this is supposed to be a painting of the most beautiful woman in the world? So I changed her up and I made her have vitiligo because imperfections are beautiful. In Santaria, when you pray to an Orisha, you give them an offering. And her offering happens to be gold so that's why I made her vitiligo gold. At right is Yemaya. She's the goddess of motherhood, nurturing and love. Oyá is in red, she is the goddess that rules over death. Then you have Obatalá who is the equivalent to Jesus, and is a hermaphrodite. Obatalá is the son/daughter of Olodumare, which is God."

The Lioness, oil, 55"h x 67"w #art #oilpainting #womenempowerment #african #albino #black #rust #hunter #lion #freckles #naturalhair

A post shared by Harmonia (@honeiee) on Sep 21, 2017 at 7:33am PDT

Her thought-provoking work can be seen and purchased via her website. Check out more of her work below:

‘America’s Civilized’ The colonizers hegemony of the 17th century. How does it continue to shape Americans, physically and mentally, today? *I had to backtrack in order to get the tattoos correct…in doing so, I stumbled upon some info that defined my concept for the better. #art #oilpainting #linen #african #algonquian #melanin #beauty #tattoos #pearls #lace #ship #history #women #empoweringthroughknowledge #america

A post shared by Harmonia (@honeiee) on Dec 21, 2017 at 11:31am PST

Painting flowers this morning…really relaxing. #art #flowers #redhead #angels #wings #oilpainting #progress

A post shared by Harmonia (@honeiee) on Jan 24, 2018 at 7:09am PST

#spring A time of creation and blossoming flowers. In our physical life-cycle it starts with our conception in the womb. In our numerous journeys it is also a time of opportunity and renewal. -SOLD Prints will be available soon. #flowers #series #oilpainting #pearls #melanin #beauty #gold #butterfly #hummingbird #art

A post shared by Harmonia (@honeiee) on

Apr 22, 2018 at 2:31pm PDT

Santeria