As a child picking cotton in the fields of rural Georgia, and later while working as a member of a domestic staff, Rowe always envisioned she could be an artist. Following the death of her second husband she began adorning her house and yard in colorful sculptures and drawings. I Am Sad was executed in 1982, following Nellie’s diagnosis of multiple myeloma in November 1981, the title likely alluding to her emotional state at the time. Sustained by her faith, her morale remained high, and she continued to create art. In an interview with Judith Alexander in 1982, Rowe stated:

“I enjoy trying to draw when I am sick. I just have to be doing something. Drawing is the only thing I think is good for the Lord. I try to draw because He is wonderful to me. I just have to keep drawing until He says, ‘Well done, Nellie, you have been faithful.’ Then I will know that I have finished my work. When I wake up in glory I want to hear ‘Well done, Nellie, well done.’ That is when the happiness come by.”

I Am Sad situates Nellie against a radiant rainbow backdrop, removed from the earthly plane, perhaps suggesting her vision of the afterlife and her own spiritual transcendence.