some plans.

thinking about creating some small paintings that don't require much time to get done. my usual paintings take about 2 weeks to be completed, and this of course influence in their prices. if I make smaller and quicker paintings, I can charge much less. my bigger pieces cost between $380 and $450, depending mostly on the time I spend in each one. since I'm just starting off in the market, I don't believe I can charge much more.

I started to experiment today, on watercolor paper. I'm not very sure yet about what I'm going to paint. not very complex themes though. maybe just faces, ornamental abstracts, some surrealism, who knows. I'm going to spend the week with my in-laws, and since when I'm there I don't need to worry about anything but taking care of my daughter, I may come back home with something new. the big panels will stay home waiting, I don't want to take the whole art paraphernalia with me for a trip. only the watercolor pad and box, 3 or 4 brushes and pencils, and books - got some new ones a few weeks ago and just had the chance to barely open them. and, of course, since we'll have free baby sitter, going to the movies!!! boy, I even forgot what a movie theater smells like. and God, I NEED to see Watchmen.

in progress: ignis aeris

ready for a bit more of my beloved The Waterman tryptich? here's the underpainting:





it's amazing how I get energized when working with warm colors. I love all tones of blue and purples, but working with reds and oranges really make my day. I love how their pigments mix well and how they pop out the board.





I really like the way the lion skin came out. I think the abstraction fit well. it made me think about creating another piece using a lion as a focus and the same horizontal abstracts.



planning another tryptich for a near future. not that huge, though. it's a lot of work. my pieces are sort of independent from each other, so i don't get bored working on the same elements all the time. I may do something more simple next time, on smaller panels.

second panel finally in progress

I must confess I am proud of this one. :)











Ignis Aeris is the right panel of The Waterman triptych. it represents the elements Fire and Water, or the yang ones. the left panel will be called Terrae Aquae, and it will represent the ying elements Earth and Water.

I didn't intend to use too much symbolism in the side panels, since they are supposed to "frame" the main one, which I decided to call Unio Mystica (this is the very own you've been watching for a while, with the naked Christ.) the four elements are the base of the physical universe, or microcosm, where the Divine Spirit manifests.

in Ignis Aeris, the bottom figure is the Magician. this arcane represents the number One, the power of creation. his nature is pretty much Air/Fire, since he pursues the gifts of the intellect (Air) and of the power of will (Fire) combined. I wanted to represent him wearing the Nemean lion skin, like Hercules. Hercules is the epitome of hero, that guy who has the power of will, creativity, braveness and passion (all Fire qualities), as well as mental skills (Air) in enough quantity to be succeeded in his endeavors.

other symbols I used are the butterflies (for Air) and the phoenix ( for Fire, represented by the middle figure in a bird mask). all the gestures evoke spirituality and connection to the higher planes.

it was funny to notice, when I finished the sketch, that the group had gained a sort of a Bacchanalia aura. I think that the god Bacchus has a strong fire connection, with all that wine and ecstasy, not mentioning that his cult was also pretty wild and sexually indulgent... more Fire, impossible.

work in progress: the waterman IV

have not progressed significantly on The Waterman, since I've been distracted by domestic issues and also by the making of my new website. the piece also came out with more details than I was expecting, and this is always very time-consuming. I've been enjoying working at it, although I tend to slow down when I take too long in a piece.




decided to change the little fishes at the bottom. I didn't like the former ones, which were more abstract.







I think I should start working in the other panels (did I say that's supposed to be a triptych?) in order to find more fuel to continue the job and also to give my eyes a little refreshment. when you keep working for too long in a piece your eyes tend to get a little tired; seems that your sight get a little "distorted" and you start to misjudge things. colors don't look right anymore, you feel that some details shouldn't be there, it's a total mess. nothing like changing your focus a bit.

in progress: The Waterman III

in progress: the waterman II

I finished the penciling, leaving some details for later, as usual. now it is ready for the first wash.

postcards are here!

they arrived yesterday, and I am amazed by the excellent quality of the job (sorry for the crappy pictures, my camera is not being very cooperative to me lately):





absolutely no flaws to report, all came up just like I designed and the material and colors are absolutely fine. I'm just excited to start spreading them around!

and when the service is good (and the prices unbeatable), I feel pleasured to recommend: Ps Print.

the Divine is naked.

now I guess I can show the very beginning of my new creative effort, a project I've been cherished for a while, and that I decided to call The Waterman.






I told my husband the other night: "I want to paint Jesus naked." he just responded, after some of his characteristic little jokes, "just go ahead, my dear. you have my support."

I had confessed him that I had some apprehensions about it. not really religious ones, since I am not a Christian and I do not worship deities, but I am a total admirer of Jesus Christ. this man is my life role model, the example I try to keep in my mind and heart every minute. although to me he is not God himself, but some kind of older brother and master, he is a sacred symbol for many. my fear was to create controversies about putting a sacred symbol naked, and I don't want to offend anybody. but then I thought, "hey, wait a minute... this is art, and art is not supposed to follow rules. and since I'm the artist and I'm supposed to express my thoughts, I think that there's nothing offensive in naked bodies. naked is beautiful and my Jesus will be beautiful and yes, he will be naked."

in my work, Jesus is the waterman. my starting point to this concept is Luke 22:10, that says "a man will meet you carrying an earthen pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he goes in." that was a kind of announcement of the age of Aquarius. I then saw Jesus as the own man with the pitcher of water. he was not just the avatar of the Pisces era, for his message is universal and it will stay forever. and in the age of Aquarius it will be finally understood and followed in its purity, without "the veil of the letter".

that's the meaning of the nakedness of Jesus: the purity and truth of his message. nothing more to hide or being corrupted by men in their political interests, no more manipulative interpretations. just the truth, as it is. naked.

talking to my good friend Marcelo Peregrino later on the msn, I told him about my project and fears. Marcelo is a big fan of Jesus as much as I am, then I knew he would understand me. he responded me with a song by Gilberto Gil, a famous Brazilian musician (please forgive the rough translation):

If I want to talk to God,
I have to be alone,
I have to turn off the light,
I have to silence my voice.
(...)
I have to have my hands empty,
to have body and soul naked.

and then, my friend said, "the Divine is naked."

starting new artwork, in spite of some dark clouds

these have been strange days of lethargy and sickness around the house. first baby, then me, then my husband. according to my researches on the symptoms, it seems like a "family" gastroenteritis. I still feel nauseous and weak. baby looks better, my husband doesn't seem very fine yet. I was working in my new piece yesterday when I started to feel real bad and had to leave the board. freaky.

my new work is called The Waterman and it is intended to be a triptych. I wish I could get the 3 pieces finished until late this month. I've been brainstorming it for a while, made some studies but things do not seem totally in place yet. sometimes it starts almost like a blur, and then when I decide to adventure myself into the board, things simply happen. since I started working with the illustration boards I don't do preliminary sketches anymore. I like to preserve the freshness of the drawing, its initial energy, and the board is strong enough to bear all the erasing without getting damaged.

but anyway... I am very anxious to see Watchmen and I think that it will be possible only late this month. for total fans like me, this is the same as torture!

love my artwork?

...so now you can find products featuring my illustrations and paintings on RedBubble. they have greeting cards and different types of prints, including matted and framed. new additions will be done in the future. go visit! and don't forget to spread the word...

do it yourself: photo references

most times, figurative artists need good human body references for their paintings and drawings. having a live model is just awesome, but when you cannot afford one, a fair photograph do the trick. and when you don't have photographs available (and you don't want to use that one you found on the web without permission, do you?), what do you do? well, in my case, I just apply some foundation on my face, put on a funny head band that keep my hair off my face, set up my home camera, look for a piece of white wall, take off my clothes... and in less than a couple hours I have a nice batch of my own reference photographs.



it's fun and a good exercise of creativity, as well as a little revival of my stage days. and best of all, I can always have the exact (or almost exact) poses I want for the concept I am developing.



the inconvenient: I have to struggle to make the figures in the drawings not to look like me too much. which sometimes doesn't happen. it sucks to have your own face in every board, when you don't have the intention of building a self-portrait.



this is why I've been in desperate need of models that can "donate" their pictures for my reference album. I've found lots of wonderful pictures of stunning people around the internet, but I don't really feel like emailing them asking for permission without some kind of payment or retribution. and I totally need men pictures!!



the pictures above are from today's photoshoot, some of the ones I liked best. breasts are blurred for obvious reasons (although I don't like this resource, but it's less stupid than those black stripes. I know that this is an art blog, but I really don't feel very confortable without the smudge... :P). on the wall you can see pieces of the tape I use to mark the right position for myself, my daughter's scribbles (she always find a way to do it when we're not watching) and light switches. more homemade, impossible. I'm also coming to the conclusion that I need a better camera. one that do not take blurred pictures when you are not using flash in a poor light (I hate using flash) and that can take several shots in succession. it's very tiring coming and going from behing the camera every time I want a shot!

em bom Português.

to my Brazilian readers: no need of trying to follow my broken English anymore. the posts are being now translated to Portuguese on my other blog, Inspirais. see you there, and hope you all enjoy it!

para meus leitores brasileiros (sim, eu sei que alguns de vocês tem estado por aqui com uma certa frequência. obrigada a todos!): não é mais necessário tentar acomponhar meu broken English. os posts estão agora send traduzidos para o português no meu outro blog, o Inspirais. vejo vocês por lá!