Here is summary in paintings of the past week. If you would like to get more updates, follow me via Instagram: @wxstudio. I usually post process pictures through there because of ease  of accessibility. In other news, I opened a new Etsy shop exclusively for my paintings, if you are curious, visit wxpaintings.etsy.com. I have also added lots of digital design to my other etsy shop: wxstudio.etsy.com

 

 

It's Fall!

I feel less humidity in the air and sometimes if I'm lucky, an afternoon breeze. I can actually go out to my patio and sit there without melting. Two weeks ago while I was grocery shopping, I saw pumpkin and sweet potato pie in the bakery section... Fall has arrived to Miami indeed! (Winterland inhabitants are probably thinking: "somebody shut her up!" hehehe)
My boss brought a couple of pumpkins to work to decorate and I kidnapped them for the weekend so I could paint them. The end result which you can see here, is now available on my Etsy store.

"Three Pumpkins"
4"x4"
Pastel on Paper

Instagram Obsession

Hello World!
Due to ease of access and lack of time I have been posting most of my work and even my process via my Instagram account (@wxstudio). I'm posting some of it here for your enjoyment. The cats and the peonies are available for sale on my Etsy store. I enjoyed the painting process of both thoroughly. It was awesome to re-discover my secret stash of pastel paper! There's no better feeling that the creaminess of a soft pastel sliding over a sexy rough surface like the one I painted these babies in... I hope that wasn't too dirty for you ;)

Strawberries...

Lately life has been crazy. We bought a house (crazy in and out of itself), we moved twice (crazy doesn't begin to describe it), I went to a conference in D.C., and another one in Vermont and took advantage of that opportunity to drive to Canada.
I have also been doing some design related work, both for a couple clients and for my personal enjoyment (which usually ends up on my Etsy store), this usually includes Pin the Tail on the animal games or pattern design, which I have been exploring a lot. Hectic is perhaps the most appropriate word to describe the last months of the author of this blog.
I have not been painting as much as I'd like, but that doesn't mean I have stopped. I finished muse #5 (which I haven't been able to photograph successfully), started muse #6 and also managed to squeeze in this strawberry study, which I enjoyed soooo much!
I shared these process pictures on Instagram as I was painting. I usually tag this type of virtual live demo with #paintingdemo so you can easily find me posting as I work.
I invite you to visit my Instagram feed (@wxstudio), as well as my graphic design blog, and my etsy store. You'll find all kinds of treasures there...

"Strawberry Trio"
8"x10"
Oil on Canvas
Available for Sale Here

Three Apples

Scrumptious apples on gallery wrapped canvas...

"Three Apples"
Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas
8"x8"
Available for Sale Here

Pear Trio

This painting is being presented to you thanks to my husband... I was ready to send it to the trash after several failed attempts at fixing the background. Paolo insisted I keep it until I had time to think, then the next day voila! this cutie appeared after a sudden surge of inspiration. I wished you could see it in person, the colors look a lot better!


"Pear Trio"
19.5"x22"
Pastel on La Carte Paper
Available for Sale Here

Show & Tease

Hello Everyone!

I can't believe January is almost over!!! Weren't we counting the days 'till Christmas just a couple of hours ago? Ugh... Life is passing by and I don't even feel it anymore. Turns out that my mom was right when she told me that life went by faster after you turned 18, and even worse when you turned 25, and now I'm getting dangerously close to 30!!!
For my older readers, beware not! You have lots more wisdom under your belt, and I'm actually not afraid of going to the "third floor," it is just a little bit shocking to see how quickly time passes by... (And yes, I am exaggerating/being a drama queen -it is one of my talents- I'm only turning 28 this April).
Anyhow, I wanted to announce that I will be showing one of  my bromeliads at the Limner Gallery in Hudson, NY. The reception is February 1st at 5:00 PM in case you are around that area.
In other news, I am very close to being done with Muse #5 and I'm also working on a pastel piece with pears as the subject (just to clarify: they are NOT done). This post is just to give you a little teaser...

Hot Pink and the New Year

This is my last bromeliad of 2013!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, may the new year bring you and your loved ones lots of blessings. I will be showing you muse number 5 soon... For now, just enjoy the almost scandalous colors of this beautiful flower!

"Hot Pink Bromeliad"
20"x20"
Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas
Available for Sale Here 
You can also purchase it via my Etsy Shop

Instagram Live Demo & Other Good News

 
I came home today full of inspiration. I discovered some pieces of Canson paper in my studio and my husband cut them in nice little squares. I knew I wanted to use pastels. I used my smart phone to take pictures of the process and proceeded to post my process on Instagram as it happened. I was quite happy to see that people were looking at my "live demo!" It is sooo exciting to receive that instant gratification that only social media allows you to have. Anyhow, I could not leave my blog followers out of the loop, so here are the pictures for your enjoyment.

By the way, I have two good news:
#1 - I was picked as "judge's choice" in the November Daily Paintworks contest!
#2 - "Daring Bromeliad" was accepted to an exhibition at the Limner Gallery in Hudson, NY next February!!!

Yay me!!!

"Bowl of Apples"
Pastel on Paper
10"X10"
You can purchase it here...

Instagram Obsession & Shameless Advertising

After much resisting due to time constraints and whatnot, I decided to open my very own Instagram account. I am now addicted since I get instant gratification after each post. I can share my artwork with millions of people around the world in a matter of seconds!!!

Best of all, I get to connect with other incredible artists who enrich the planet with their beautiful creations.  I was star struck for a moment yesterday, when while playing around with the app I posted my charcoal self portrait and tagged one of my favorite contemporary artists: Jeremy Lipking. Although he probably does this with hundreds of people each day (who knows?!), he actually took the time to look and like my post (as evidenced by the picture above). I startled my husband when I screamed out in happiness and glee to find out that the equivalent of a Hollywood celebrity in my mind had taken the time to look at my self-portrait. Take some time to look at his work, he is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

I invite you to join me in this new and exhilarating quest!

By the way, did you know I am also a graphic artist? I have a blog where I post some of my creations, in case you haven't visited click here.

Four Models...

 

Muse #5 has been photographed and is currently on the sketching phase. As you can see above, my sister was kind enough to pose for me, and I have to say she looked beautiful and was a really good model! (posing is easier said than done). Thank you Viviana!!!!
I captured lots of good reference pictures that I may be using in the future, including the one here, which was one of the candidates for the painting but didn't make it to the "final round."

You may also be wondering what kind of muses are in picture at the bottom. Well, I also had a couple of other models that decided to go on the spotlight that night. My father, as well as Yogi (white maltese) and Brandy (black Portuguese water dog who has now been with us for the past 5 months!).

Yes, we are a very photogenic family ;)

Self Portrait at 27

 
This is the final assignment of the class. We had to draw ourselves showing how we used some of the muscle groups of the face. I think this was incredibly successful and I am sooo happy with myself that I cannot wait to try my new skills with paint!

If you are in the market for a portrait, I am accepting commissions! If you want something just like this, head and shoulders with charcoal, there is a flat rate of $650 per face. Write me a message if you would like more information! I especially recommend getting some pointers before taking the picture, since not every photograph will make a successful drawing/painting.

L'écorché by Jean-Antoine Houdon

This was the second to last drawing of my class. The figure was done with graphite and the background with charcoal. It looks pretty scary or perhaps like something that should belong in a medical school. Well, let me tell you that in order to understand and be able to depict the human body successfully, one needs to understand its structure. Artists have been studying anatomy for hundreds of years, some of them even dissected corpses (including Da Vinci, Gericault among many others!).
This particular piece was done by Houdon as a study for his John the Baptist sculpture and eventually became more famous than the final product.

Unfortunately, much of this knowledge is no longer taught in art schools these days, but I am fortunate to have one of the few professors in America who has the information and is willing to share it with his students (a highly unusual combination). Once again, I am referring to the one and only David Y. Chang.

Professor Chang gave us a lecture on morphology and taught us all the bones and muscles of the head. It was freaking amazing!!! I now know things like the zygomatic arch, squama, the great wing of sphenoid, condyle, levator labii superioris, orbicularis oris, buccinator, depressor septi, etc. I really hope he decides to teach that figure drawing class.

Apples and Honey

Just a quick study with pastel that I did to get some color in my life after all that charcoal/graphite activity...

"Apples and Honey"
9"x12"
Available for Sale Here

Classical Drawing Report

 

 

 

 

I feel incredibly happy and at the same time very nostalgic from having finished my classical drawing class. It was a lot of work, but I also miss the camaraderie and the environment that develops when you put several artists together. My professor David Y. Chang was able to top himself (NOT an easy task) by giving us a morphology lesson as well as bringing old books to exemplify some of this teachings. One of them was Luca Pacioli's "De Divina Proportione" where Leonardo Da Vinci illustrated complex geometric shapes with silverpoint, a medium that cannot be erased. This demonstrated to the world how confident he was about his skills.

Here are some of the drawings I produced during the class. Please note they are not necessarily finished, since we had limited time to work on them in the classroom. From top to bottom:

Sphere Study (from imagination)
The Silver Cup after Chardin
Geometric Shapes study
Fruit, metal and glass still life
La Jeune Femme study

These were all done either with graphite or charcoal. I will post some more of my drawings soon...

A little French in your drawing?

In case you didn't know, the French were instrumental in the development of drawing and painting in the world. The Palais des Études of the École Nationale Superieur des Beaux-Arts also known as the French Academy or Beaux Arts proved to be the preferred source of great art for kings and emperors alike. It is also the origin of the "pedigree" of great american artists like Thomas Eakins, Robert Beverly Hale, Norman Rockwell, Daniel E. Greene among many others. Pictured above is the writer of this blog in the courtyard of the school in Paris back in 2008.

If you do your research, you will find most great contemporary figurative painters are somehow connected to this great institution, not necessarily because they attended that school, but perhaps their professor, or the professor of their professor went there. Hopefully one day somebody will be researching me and finding that I too, was connected to this school ;)

Well, my homework for this week is to draw one of the most famous faces in art, studied by thousands of students throughout the world. Most people don't know the face belongs to the death mask of a lady that was found drowned in the Seine River. No one ever claimed her, but she became a legend because of her beauty and pleasant expression: "La Jeune Femme." 

For now I am only sharing the struggle of just having to draw her, but I will report my process soon...

 

Classical Drawing & Wisdom from my Parents...

Like my parents always insist, if one sets out to do something, one should work to become the best at it. Art, like most other things in life, is like math, if you don't know the basics you can't really get better at it. That is why I decided to take a classical drawing class again. I took classical drawing more or less six years ago, but since then, my professor restructured it to cover topics I never learned. It was the hardest art course of my degree and I had always dreaded the thought of doing it again.

Guess what? It turns out it is one of the best decisions I have ever taken. I am soooo happy with the new found knowledge about composition, veiling, the golden mean, among lots of other cool stuff. I am confident that I will become a much better painting because of this course. I can't wait to start trying out my new skills with paint!

Above is one of the master studies I worked on for "home studio."  The original is by Da Vinci, and although I am not there yet, I am definitely closer than I was six years ago when I tried it last. This time I actually enjoyed the exercise!!! Who would have thought??? (Back then it was mere torture).

I leave you with another bit of wisdom from my dad... "You can't learn how to swim by reading a book, you just have to throw yourself in the water" and that is exactly what I'm trying to do, figuratively, of course.

P.S. The study is not done, I mostly worked on working the value right on the shadows. I still have to work on the transition from light to dark and the lights :)

Going Back to the Comfort Zone...

I'm sure fellow painters can all relate to having some moments when you feel you have forgotten how to paint. One feels down and depressed and that usually causes you to avoid painting some more. What a vicious cycle!!! It is not very different from trying to lose weight and then giving in and eating whatever delicious treat comes your way (believe me, I know...) So! I have discovered that one of the best ways to get back into full gear is painting a subject that comes natural to you, that gives you back the confidence you need to get back on the saddle (I have not discovered the strategy for the losing weight part, if you do, let me know). For me, bromeliads are that subject.

I named this one thinking that it was almost obscene to pack sooo much delicious color into one painting. My original thought was in Spanish: "Descarada!" Oh well! It was just what the doctor ordered. Especially, after having a horrible cold for the past week...

"Daring Bromeliad"
16"x20"
Pastel on Board
Available for Sale Here

Meh!

I was debating whether I should show this one or not. It is the only little painting I have been able to fit into my schedule lately, and I am not happy about how the composition turned out. I do like other components of it like the creaminess of the paint on the guavas. Anyway, I figured this is about showing the struggles of being an artist and how every time you paint, it will not necessarily be a masterpiece!

"Three Little Guavas"
8"x8"
Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas
Available for Sale Here

Hot! Hot! Hot!

After painting this same subject on pastels, I decided to give it a try in oils and on a big scale. I really enjoy painting this type of compositions. I have noticed it is "my thing" to paint big, simple and colorful arrangements of the same element rather than a lot of different things on the same canvas.

I will try to get a better photograph of this one soon... I got home only an hour ago and there was not enough light. I was away with my hubby during the July 4th weekend visiting Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC. Beautiful towns!!! By the way, if you are ever is Savannah, you MUST go to dinner at the Olde Pink House, and please don't forget to stop by for a drink at the wine cellar/tavern on the basement...

God bless America!!!

"Double as Spicy"
Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas
24"x48"
Available for Sale Here