Law & Politics
Meet the Christian Speed Painter Who Raised $2.75 Million at a Trump Charity Auction
Vanessa Horabuena blends religion and patriotism in her "worship paintings."
Sarah Cascone
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You may not know the name Vanessa Horabuena (b. 1985), but the artist has dominated the art headlines for the start of the year, thanks to her $2.75 million charity art auction with President Donald Trump on New Year’s Eve at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
A painter known for her embrace of Christian themes, Horabuena often works at rapid speed, wielding her brush and canvases in front of awed crowds as she seemingly conjures religious imagery she dubs “worship paintings” out of thin air.
“There’s a young lady named Vanessa who’s one of the greatest artists anywhere in the world,” Trump told the crowd at Mar-a-Lago, as reported by CNN. “She can paint, slowly, a beautiful portrait for the White House, or she can paint the most incredible painting in literally 10 minutes.”
Normally, Horabuena sells her original paintings for between $15,000 and $40,000. Prints start at just $11.25. As of press time, she has not responded to requests for comment.
Who Is Vanessa Horabuena?
Drawing and Christianity were both early passions for Horabuena, an Arizona artist who credits a Christian summer camp she attended at age 13 with igniting her faith in Jesus. On the artist’s website, she wrote of a troubled childhood, during which she allegedly suffered sexual abuse at the hands of several family members. She “began struggling with my sexuality” at age 19, and turned away not only from her faith, but from her art.
“I felt safer with women than I felt with men. That was a difficult thing for me. I remember feeling so sad to know that I was disqualified from living out my life for God,” Horabuena told the Christian Broadcasting Network. (She added that she has since overcome her attraction to women.)
Vanessa Horabuena at the America First gala at Mar-a-Lago on April 11, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. Photo: Romain Maurice / Getty Images for Haute Living.
Reconnecting with the church after eight years following counseling with a pastor, Horabuena also began drawing again. She became convinced that God was working through her when she put pen to paper. The artist turned to speed painting as a way to share the religious fervor she felt behind the canvas with other Christians. Horabuena sees the process as a metaphor, the way the messy brushstrokes coalesce into a coherent portrait as a reflection of God’s unknowable plan.
“Our mistakes stack up against us one by one, pain and loss make their way to the canvas of our lives and we struggle with what we see unfolding,” she wrote on her website. “If we can allow Him to continue to work on us, in due time, we will see how these strokes all work together to bring out a beauty that could never be created by human hands.”
An Artist With Strong Beliefs
A Horabuena speed painting performance is a blend of art, prayer, and dance. The artist wields her brushes like a fencer’s foil, whipping them across the canvas with dramatic flair. She periodically raises her arms in praise in between brushstrokes, as if invoking God himself to guide her hand.
A video on her Facebook promoting Horabuena’s Tempe, Arizona, gallery shows her painting in a darkened room, illuminated by candles held by her audience members. The venue, she wrote, is “perfect for a morning Bible study or simply just to spend time with God as you enjoy the artwork!”
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But Horabuena isn’t just a woman of faith. She is also a conspiracy theorist, as first reported by Meidas Touch. In November 2023, Horabuena took a quick break from sharing videos of her theatrical painting process to post on her Facebook that “The moon landing never happened. They lie and lie and lie.”
“It’s impossible. The radiation barrier has never been breached and we don’t have the technology even today to do it,” she added in the comments. “We didn’t even have cell phones. And we got astronauts that went to the moon in the 60s? Nope. Didn’t happen.”
In other posts, Horabuena seemed to question that the earth was round, implying she believes the disproven theories of flat earthers.
A Potent Cocktail of Art, Politics, and Religion
Horabuena’s New Year’s auction, which Trump said would benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the sheriff’s department (presumably in Palm Beach), immediately followed the creation of one of her works. Painting with both hands in bright shades of blue and yellow, a barefooted Horabuena quickly transformed a black canvas into a large-scale portrait of Jesus Christ inspired by the Shroud of Turin.
This is something of a signature composition for the artist. Horabuena believes deeply in the authenticity of the shroud, in which the face of Jesus is said to have miraculously appeared on the burial cloth in which his body was wrapped after the crucifixion.
Horabuena wrote on Facebook that “the only way this kind of image could be left was by a high intensity light from within, to shine forth and burn the image into the cloth.” (The controversial artifact, long suspected to be a medieval hoax, has inspired centuries of speculation and scientific investigation.)
Christian speed artist Vanessa Horabuena paints a Jesus art piece during the New Year’s Eve Party hosted by President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 31, 2025. Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images.
“There are no words for to express the power and presence of the Holy Spirit when I create this piece. It’s always an impactful experience and I feel so close to the heart of God when I do,” she added. “Each piece comes out a little bit different. All special in their own way. All leaving me anticipating one day… painting Jesus in Heaven.”
Horabuena also loves painting Jesus with the American flag, blending Christianity and patriotism. Trump has become another favorite subject, sometimes painted with religious imagery like a cross on a mountain, or kneeling in prayer. She also sells prints of three paintings of assassinated right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, titled A Hero’s Tribute, A Patriot’s Tribute, and The American Martyr.
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Horabuena has become closely linked to the Trump administration over the last year or so. She delivered seven paintings to his resort in Miami ahead of the election, then did a speed painting of Trump titled Prayers for Our President to the song “The Blessing” by Kari Job at the Liberty Ball, one of several inaugural balls the president attended following his swearing in last January.
And in May, when Trump decided he hated his official portrait by Sarah A. Boardman in the Colorado state capitol building, he enlisted Horabuena to make a temporary replacement portrait. The White House donated the painting to the state, and the Capitol Building Advisory Committee quickly installed it, as reported by KKTV.
The artist also has work hanging in the White House, according to Trump, who said at the charity auction that he has “replaced a lot of people with those portraits.” In June, Horabuena wrote on her website of delivering a Trump portrait to the White House, driving 33 hours with the canvas. She presented the work to Trump, Kirk, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
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And the night before Trump’s New Year’s Eve party, Horabuena did an hour-long private painting session with him, completing two paintings of Jesus, according to her Instagram. “I know that he felt God’s presence,” she said.
At Mar-a-Lago, she painted to a recording of the song “Hallelujah (Moment)” by Gregory Brunot, briefly turning the president’s holiday bash into something of a mega-church experience.
“This moment wasn’t about me, it wasn’t about a painting… this moment was about President Trump setting worship of the Lord on the main stage,” Horabuena wrote on Facebook.
President Donald Trump auctioned off a painting of Jesus by Christian speed artist Vanessa Horabuena (center right) to two unidentified guests during the New Year’s Eve Party at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida on December 31, 2025. Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images.
Trump Loves a Charity Art Auction
Trump-related charity art auctions at Mar-a-Lago have been in the news before. During the 2016 election, investigations into how Trump spent charitable funds revealed that he purchased two portraits of himself using funds from the Trump Foundation. In 2014, he placed the winning bid for a $10,000 piece by Argentinian artist Havi Schanz. In 2007, Melania Trump shelled out $20,000 for a portrait of her husband, speed painted at the event by Michael Israel.
This time around, Trump started the bidding for Horabuena’s handiwork at $100,000, serving as auctioneer and telling the crowd, “she’s the hottest.” Attendees at the New Year’s Eve fête included Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. The winning bidders, an older white man and woman, remain unidentified. She wore a bedazzled top hat and a black bustier top with a white collar, black bow tie, and cropped black blazer.
“These people are loaded with cash,” Trump assured the crowd.
President Trump astonishes America by featuring artist Vanessa Horabuena, who skillfully paints a depiction of Jesus Christ at his New Year’s Eve celebration. This unique artistic performance captivated attendees, blending faith and artistry in an unexpected setting. pic.twitter.com/CE3pg7N3By
— Fine Art Connection (@fine_art_biz) January 1, 2026
Video of the event shows Horabuena finishing her painting and waving it above her head to muted applause. But the artist saw the evening as a powerful spiritual experience.
“Some moments are God moments. This is definitely one of those moments,” she wrote on Facebook. “He touched the heart of the greatest world leader and poured out His spirit unto a people who were not expecting it, but whose hearts were open.”
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