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...

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...

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...

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

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