Parris Jaru is a painter based in Brooklyn, New York, whose work draws on his Jamaican, Blackfoot Nation, and Arawak heritage. He began his career as a photo technician at Marvel Comics, later founding the handmade jewelry line Blufork's NYC before turning to painting, initially selling canvases on the streets of Soho and the East Village. His ongoing series, Etchings on Canvas, layers numerical and astrological symbols with original poetry, rendered in natural plant-based pigments such as sea algae, hibiscus, and turmeric ground with oils. Jaru has exhibited at the Chelsea Art Museum and Weeksville Heritage Center, works as a muralist, and has been the subject of two documentaries, one of which earned an Emmy nomination.