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 ;)

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

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

Painting Lotus Flowers

 

 

I survived the flu!!! I am currently on antibiotics and happy to report that I completed my first painting post-illness. Muse number four has been photographed and I even did a small pastel study for it, but I will save it for the next post.  I also posted the process of this painting for those of you that are curious about my technique. If you have any questions, let me know!

I thought these lotus blossoms looked like 3 girls gossiping while sun-bathing. You don't see it??? Well, it might just be the meds...

"Lotus Ladies"
11"x14"
Pastel on Board
Available for Sale Here

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

I'm alive!!!

Here is a painting I have been working on for quite some time... I have been dealing with life lately... the latest news is that I'll be getting married next January (:D) and so all the paperwork and the respective courses at the Church have been taking up most of my attention. However, I squeezed in a little bit of painting and I am FINALLY able to reveal this one...

And, even better, I already began the next one!!!! You will see it soon, I have a good feeling about it...

"Bromeliad Trifecta"

30"x40"

Oil on Canvas

Lotus Flower

Here is one of the paintings that debuted in the show I did at Marce's at the beginning of the month. I got the idea from a photograph I took while visiting the Fruit and Spice park in the Redlands.

The "pushing and pulling" I had to manage in order to achieve the effect of depth in this piece was quite the challenge! Every painting is a learning experience :)

Compositions where there are lots of elements trying to capture one's attention require a great deal of deliberate decisions. Gotta keep painting to get better!!!!

Special thanks to JC and Giovanna for the canvas ;)

"Lotus Flower"

16"x20"

Oil on Canvas

Mission Accomplished!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Here is the completed painting commission that I got all the way from my homeland: Cali, Colombia!!! It was sent to its new home last Monday. Hopefully I will get a picture of it framed in its final destination so I can share it with you...

I love the colors and the composition. You can see a picture of it in process in the previous post.



"Hide and Seek"
40"x50"
Oil on Canvas
-SOLD-
Private Collection

More Experiments...

I have continued to work with watercolors and I love them because the medium has a different consistency which allows me to work a little quicker. Why is that important? Well, if you have been reading the blog for the past few days you have probably guessed correctly: Thesis.
I have made some progress. Today I finished the sketch of the first out of the ten large paintings I have to complete. However, I do not want to post the progress nor the final results because I want to keep that as a surprise for the final show.
I will take pictures of the process though, so that I can share it with you later on.

"Pink Flower"
9"x12"
22.9cm x 30.5cm
Watercolor on Paper
$130 (Shipping Included)

Hidden Treasure

Back to my bromeliad concentration.
I was soooo happy when I took the reference photo for this one... I thought I was done photographing bromeliads in my father-in-law's house, but I had not driven one block when I saw this nice orange bromeliad and I had to stop to take a shot of it. What a wonderful surprise when I looked in the center of it and I found this "hidden treasure." For me, it is all the small details that make life so great and worth living. Nature never ceases to amaze me.

"Hidden Treasure"
8"x10"
20.3cm x 20.3cm
Oil on Canvas
Private Collection

Gerberas

I am feeling this one a little more... The reference photo for this picture was taken in Sarasota in the lobby of the hotel. They had all these cute gerberas adorning the coffee tables.

"Simply Gerberas"
8"x10"
20.3cm x 20.3cm
Oil on Canvas

Bromeliad Bromeliad Bromeliad -SOLD-

Continuing with the Bromeliad series. Yummy colors on this one...
My professor approved my topic for thesis, so I will be doing some preliminary studies that I will probably post here as well.

"Green Bromeliad" -SOLD-
8"x10"
20.3cm x 25.4cm
Oil on Canvas
Private Collection

More Bromeliads...

Aghhh... This was a hard piece to complete. I think I will work on it a little bit more later on... It was hard for me to get the colors right. It is all about trial and error in painting. And it is well known that everytime you paint you will not end up with a masterpiece... I just hope that with this practice it will become a little more common occurrence :)

"Blue Bromeliad"
8"x10"
Oil on Canvas
$130 (Shipping Included)

Madder Bromeliad - SOLD-

Posting a little late today. I had to go pick up my boyfriend from the airport... I am sooo happy to see him. He spent two weeks in Colombia visiting his family. This bromeliad is actually from his father's front yard...
Loving the colors here... The name of the painting comes from one of my favorite hues in my palette: Madder Lake Deep.

"Madder Bromeliad" -SOLD-
8"x10"
Oil on Canvas
Private Collection

Twin Bromeliads -SOLD-

I am very happy with this one. An explosion of color just the way I like it. I am intercalating between fruits and bromeliads so I don't get bored. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did painting it.

"Twin Bromeliads" -SOLD-
8"x10"
Oil on Canvas
Private Collection

Japanese Tulips

I am back to my normal work schedule. I begin classes again in May, when I will start the last stage of my graduate degree: thesis.
Before I start hyperventilating from imagining all the work I will have to be doing, I can tell you that today's post comes to you all the way from Japan. My sister finally realized her dream of traveling there (Good for you Viviana!!!! I'm proud!!!). She will be staying there for 20 days and so I commended her with the mission of taking lots of pictures for me to paint. Here is the first one!


Japanese Tulips
8"x10"
Oil on Canvas
$110 (Shipping Included)