Color!!!

I follow several artists that have blogs just like this one; some of them paint in pastel, others in oil.
Pastel-wise I am drawn to (more like in love with) the work of Margaret Dyer (take a look at her paintings here). She paints in a gestural manner and has a wonderful way of handling color. I painted these pears thinking about her creations...

This pastel illustrates how the most important thing to make an object look realistic is the value and the proportion, not necessarily the color. Although you know pears don't necessarily have these hues, they still read as pears and have dimension. I had lots of fun putting lots of "unusual" color down!

"Multicolored Pears"
8"x10"
Pastel on Board
Available for Sale Here

Seasons Greetings!

Just a quick message for today (soon I will give you a glimpse of the muse painting)...

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and I wish you a wonderful 2013 full of surprises, blessings and love.Thank you for accompanying me in this wonderful artistic journey!

From our family to yours: Happy Holidays!!!!

The last of the mini-series... -SOLD-

This was the last one of the egg paintings...
I am now in "muse-mode" again.

"Egg and Shells"
8"x8"
Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas
Sold

How to paint an egg... -SOLD-

The most important ingredient needed while painting eggs (besides the actual eggs) is PATIENCE. Lots, and lots of it. After that, it is a matter of reviewing some of the basic principles of art and visual phenomena: value, proportion, light, reflected light, shadow, texture, color temperature and edges.
I know, I know, it sounds simpler than it is doing it. But, pardon the cliché: "practice makes perfect."
I think I still have a lot to learn, but I believe this painting looks very nice.

"Cracked Under Pressure"
8"x8"
Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas
Sold

Egg Inspiration -SOLD-

Last Sunday was one of the most productive Sundays I have had in a looooong time. I sat in front of my easel and decided to give eggs another try but this time with oil paint. I finished two small paintings that day and I loved them! I feel like "I'm back" whenever I get to paint in this lose, gestural manner. Yesterday I painted another one to complete my mini-series. I will show you those soon...


"Egg Cocktail"
8"x8"
Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas
Sold

Study

Being an artist is difficult. Especially when having a full time job and other little projects going on in your daily life... But there are only a handful of other things that give me as much joy as sitting in front of the easel and "playing" with color.
This time, inspired by Qiang Huang (one of the artists I follow) I wanted to create a composition with really bright colors and see if I could pull it off. I got to use many of the sennelier sticks that usually sit there waiting to shine when given an opportunity to be part of the light or highlight of a composition. I also tried painting eggs which by the way are HARD!!!! But I want to keep painting them!!!

P.S. The third muse is already underway...

"Apples and Eggs"
8"x10"
Pastel on Board
Available for sale here

Lemons and Jar

My friend Vanessa had a cowboy-themed birthday party a couple of weeks ago. I got a couple of mason jars from her decorations to use as props in my paintings, hence the jar in this composition. I was looking for a different color for my background, but since I didn't have the right fabric I decided to use one of my husband's shirts (don't tell him). Lastly, I included the lemons because I loooove their aroma and they remind me of Italy, more specifically: Sorrento.

In other news, I joined dailypaintworks.com, a community for collectors and artists created by artists. It is similar to ebay or etsy, but with the added benefit that it is only for traditional media artists. I'm really excited about this new prospect. Make sure you check it out, you can find really cute stuff for good prices!

This painting is available for sale in case you want to participate in the auction. You can access it here.

"Lemons and Jar"
8"x8"
Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas
Available for Sale

Happy Holidays!

I was in the store buying decorations for the first Christmas my husband and I are going to experience as a married couple. Suddenly, I stumbled upon this cute little bird and I knew immediately that he had to be part of our family. I  liked it sooooo much that I named him Timothy and decided to make him the star of this painting.

"Holiday Birdie"
8" x 8"
Oil on Canvas
Available for sale

Close to Venice...

I wanted to take a little break from my muse paintings. My hands and eyes were craving the rich, colorful pigments of my pastels. They were calling to me from the end of my work table, where I keep them while I work with the oils.
This painting was created from a photograph I took during my honeymoon. This is the small island of Burano (Not to be confused with Murano). It is incredibly charming! You can take a "vaporetto" (water taxi) from Venice or Murano to reach it. All of the houses are painted different colors and it is just a magic place!!! If you are ever in the area you must not miss it.
In reality, the tower in the composition is leaning (Pisa is not the only city with leaning tower in Italy). For the sake of the painting, I made use of my "artist's license" and made it straight.
Ci vediamo dopo!

"Burano"
16" x 20"
Pastel on Board
Available for Sale

More muses...

The Art Center Show was a success! I met lots of people from different parts of the world, gave out lots of cards and I sold a piece! (The juicy tomatoes have been taken to their new home).
I have been slowly progressing on my muse paintings. My professor has been critiquing my work every so often, and I have learned more about anatomy, morphology, the golden ratio and composition than ever before. It has truly been a fascinating journey.
Soon I will post the finished product. For now, let me introduce you to my friend Sharon. She is the model for the third painting of the series.
Once again, special thanks to my husband who has been the best assistant one could ever ask for...

Art Center in Lincoln Road

Hello everyone!

Just a heads up that I will be showing my work at the Art Center of South Florida in Lincoln Road.
My friend Doris Rodriguez who has a studio there invited my to show next to her in the special event "Artists Exhibiting Artists" during the monthly Studio Crawl. My name even appears on their website :D
I feel honored being chosen for this opportunity. There are many talented artists under one roof.
If you haven't been to the Art Center you will discover it is a really cool place to visit.
I truly hope you can pass by and enjoy an art-filled evening.
Have a nice day!

Succulent Succulent!

As I wonder whether Isaac (the hurricane) will be visiting South Florida, I find myself in my living room posting these words...
This is a picture of one of the paintings I featured at the RAW Mixology event.
I got my reference from a watercolor painting by Fei Lui, a painter working in Pasadena, California. I wanted to reinterpret her creation in oils and give it a little bit more dimension. You can see her painting here (you gotta give credit where credit is due).
I loved being able to use so much green and painting the "divine geometry" that is evident in these beautiful plants.

"Succulent"
30"x30"
Oil on Canvas

RAW Pictures and the first muse...

Hi everyone!

Please visit the link below to look at all the pictures of the RAW Mixology event.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rawartists/sets/72157630657139190/

Also, I have started the process for my new series. I will be painting the muses of Greek mythology. The first model (my friend Betsy) came to pose for me yesterday night. Here is a picture of the "backstage" action.
Special thanks to my hubby for all his help setting up the studio and being my assistant for the  
night.
I love you nene!

Chic Streets and Eats: Mixology a {RAW} event

The RAW Mixology event was a complete success!!!

We had a turn out of around 400 people!!!

I will post pictures of some of the work I exhibited soon, but for now, I want to share the link to "Chic Streets and Eats" a blog written by Miami fashion, food and design blogger: Ana Ortuño.

I am soo excited because she featured a couple of my paintings on her latest post about RAW. You can always subscribe to her blog and find out about the hidden treasures of Miami cuisine and fashion.

Check it out by clicking here...

Chic Streets and Eats: Mixology a {RAW} event

Thank you Ana!!! 

Hey everyone!

I am really excited because July 12th I will be showcasing my new paintings at The Stage in Midtown, as part of the Mixology Event from RAW.

It will be a really cool party full of art, music and cocktails!!!! :)

If you want to join me, the tickets are $10 and you can purchase them here:

http://www.rawartists.org/miami/mixology

Hope to see you there!!!

Roses and Fruit

I worked on this painting on and off for a while. I consider flowers (especially roses) one of the most difficult subjects to paint, and this wasn't the exception. These were the roses I initially planned to have at my wedding. But since that didn't happen, when I saw them at the supermarket I couldn't help myself and brought them to my studio. The lemons remind me of Italy and the green apple is one of my favorite fruits...

"Sweet and Sour"
16"x 20"
Pastel on Board

Wrestlemania!!!

These pictures are from the Wrestlemania Premiere Party in Star Island (March 29th). I was chosen as one of the live artists for the event. We had to complete a painting in two hours, which was then auctioned off to raise money for the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
It was sooo nice!!!!
I hope you enjoy...

Amapolas

I just finished this painting I had started a couple of months ago...

I am now happily married and finally organized in our new apartment. Married life is busy busy busy!!! But I feel even better now that I "took over" the dining room and transformed it into my studio.

I can't wait to keep painting!!!

"Amapolas Zapotes"

18"x36"

Oil on Canvas