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

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

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

Cherry Challenge

The same day I bought the onions I picked up a little tray of cherries for my mom. I decided to do something different and paint them in a way that goes"against" my usual style. In other words, I wanted a composition with several small items rather than a close up of one or two things.

These were quite the challenge, especially because I lacked the dark values of the cherries in my pastel set. However, by adjusting the rest of the values accordingly I was able to pull it off.

I'm so happy!!!! I keep hearing my professor's words in my head, and every time I paint I understand his teachings a little more.

"Cherries Hanging Out"

9"x12"

Pastel on Board

Available for Sale Here

A Pair of Granadillas

This is my second granadilla painting. These fruits are the cousins of the passion fruit. They remind me of my childhood in Colombia and of my recent trip to Cali last December when my aunt used to buy them for me :)

I used two completely different reference photos for this one, something I have never done before, but I really like the result.

I hope you enjoy the roundness and the colors as much as I do!


"Un par de Granadillas"
24"x36"
Pastel on Board
Available for Sale

New Surface

I present to you: the newest addition to my bromeliad series. This time I experimented a little bit and used pastelbord as my surface. I thought I was not going to find anything better for pastels than Sennelier's La Carte Paper, but I am happy to announce that I was wrong!!! :)
I'm looking forward to using this wonderful board many, many times in the future!

"Blushing Bromeliad"
11"x14"
35.5x28 cm
Pastel on Board
-SOLD-

Rural Pear

This is an example of what a burst of inspiration can do. I just took out my pastels and did it! I wished every painting would go this way...

OK, OK, I confess... I do like the sweet torture of personal artistic growth... Does that make artists masochists in a way?


"Country Pear"
6"x9"
15.2cm x 22.9cm
Pastel on Sennelier La Carte Paper

From Colombia with Love...

I am sorry I did not post yesterday but I went to pick up my parents and my sister from the airport and all in all it was a hectic day!
However, today I bring for you a painting from a photo taken by my mom. She got it for me while visiting the local market in Cali, Colombia. Juicy tangerines with green skin... I can't wait to go back to take lots more pictures, the variety over there is just amazing! And the food tastes so much "brighter." Also, I decided to take out my pastels because I missed them. I will concentrate on them once I get a little time off from thesis...

"Green Tangerines"
Pastel on Sennlier La Carte Paper
7.9" x11.5"
$130 (Shipping Included)

Study in Pencil

I've always heard that drawing eggs is hard but very useful if you want to understand value a little more. I did this quick study of one and I think it came out pretty good. And now, I have to go back to the huge portrait I'm painting...

"Quick Egg Study"
Pencil on Paper
Not for Sale

Yummy Kiwis

More watercolor!!! This time featuring one of my favorite color combinations. I also like the sketchy feeling of it.
I sketched two more big paintings today, the first one went like a breeze, the other one I am still struggling with... It is work work work with those portraits, but I am hoping everything will be worth at the end.

"Kiwis"
9"x6"
22.9cm x 15.2cm
Watercolor on Paper
$110 (Shipping Included)

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

Finally... the grapes

I decided to be bold and overcome my issues with this painting (mostly because the portrait I came up with today did not work... again!). I am posting them here just as they were. I see that they were not that bad after all, but I definitely want to try this challenge again!

By the way... I made it to the top ten in the daily painter contest!!!! Thank you all for your support! But now I need a LOT more votes to be among the top 5. This round of voting will continue until June 8. Please let your family and friends know. Thank you....
http://www.dailypainters.com/blog/contest


"Red Grapes"
8"x10"
20.3cm x 20.3cm
Oil on Canvas

Citrus

I know I said I would post the grapes, but I am still not sure about them. Meanwhile, I painted these oranges, once again under the recommendation of my mom.
I tried to do something different with the background this time, I think it worked out. Here they are...

"Three Oranges"
8"x10"
20.3cm x 20.3cm
Oil on Canvas

Cherries

I had begun a small portrait today but it came out horrible so I wiped it off...
Thankfully, my mom brought these cherries from the supermarket and suggested I painted them. She saved the day!

"Cherrylicious"
Oil on Canvas
8"x10"
20.3cm x 20.3cm
Available for Sale Here

Teapot - Donated & Sold

A quick study today, and I have to admit I did use my artistic license on this one... I could not resist the purples that were coming up as I painted.
I started doing my photoshoots for my thesis portraits, that is why I did not have much time to paint. Perhaps later I will attempt the same teapot more "true to life."
By the way, today I was very happy because I found a new home for four of my bromeliad paintings in Dallas, Texas!!! This gives me a great incentive to keep up with this daily discipline.

"Silver Teapot"
8"x8"
20.3cm x 20.3cm
Oil on Canvas

P.S. Don't forget to vote for the next daily painter... It is getting closer and closer to the end of this round of voting...
http://dailypainters.com/blog/contest

More Produce... -SOLD-

I went to my local supermarket to take some more pictures for this fruits/vegetables series and I got kicked out... lol!!! I explained I was an artist and I just needed some harmless pictures of their produce section and they refuted saying that it was company policy. Oh well!!! At least I got to take a few snapshots, including this illegal shot of juicy tomatoes...

"Juicy Tomatoes"
8"x8"
20.3cm x 20.3cm
Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas
-SOLD-

P.S. Just a reminder that I am participating on a contest to see who becomes the next featured artist on the daily painters gallery. If you would like to vote for me just go to this website: http://dailypainters.com/blog/contest
and click on the stars on top of my name. Thank you!!!

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