my first promo postcard

I've spent almost all day (and when I say "all day" I mean the time I reserve for working, between my usual domestic chores) working on my promo postcard. as I said before, I chose my piece Ascension to the front of the card. I think that piece is very representative of my style - colorful, theatrical, and it has lots of abstract shapes, along with the strongly spiritual concept. I know that maybe it's a little early to make a promo postcard, but I wanted to take advantage of the printing service free shipping with limited time and went ahead. :P

here's the front of the card:




for the back, which will be printed in b&w, I used the detail of "The Scream" that I liked best. I liked the result pretty much.



I hope the result in print come out just like the expected. if I like the final product, I'll surely spread the word. :)

ascension

Ascension was finally finished today, after some days of deserved rest - and even a little frustration. I had loads of problems with the background, but I think that I managed to fix them. I got so happy with the final result that I'm seriously thinking about using this image in my promo postcard.

Ascension was painted and repainted a couple times in watercolor paper before I get to this version. I had initially planned something more ethereal and soft for the deeply spiritual concept, but the colors started to explode on the board almost uncontrollably and I decided to go with the flow. in the end I realized that that was the spirit. Ascension is about love and its power and it is everything but subtle and smooth.

Anahata is the chakra located in the heart region. it has 12 petals and it is connected to the capacity of loving deeply and also to the feelings of compassion and empathy. it is generally depicted in the color green, but in my mind it appeared in luminous yellow with hints of red. it is through the anahata chakra that we can achieve universal love. it is the main point of contact to the so-called "inner Christ" and the upper planes, and this is why the general depictions of Jesus and Mary carry a flaming heart.

other symbols I used to represent the same concept are the water, running upward in a straight blue stripe across the picture, and the fish. the fish is connected to the Pisces sign and also to the primitive Christianity message. both symbols are related to universal love and compassion. the skull is there to say that loves transcends even death, and that it leads to a deep transformation - put here the meaning of the XIII arcane, Death. things that die to give place to other ones. yep, love is a profoundly alchemical force.

the upper figure is representative of a state of ecstasy and bliss conduced by deeply spiritual experiences. when we are able to achieve a full state of love, even for brief moments, we feel like we are connected to something bigger and higher. in our average level of evolution we can only realize a small part of this. only rarely our love is not attached of some kind of selfish intention. experiencing love is also a totally libertarian thing, which I wanted to show through the hawk with open wings emerging from all that violet at the top. it's absolutely amazing to get rid of feelings like hate, vengeance, jealousy, prejudice and all the things we read everyday in the news and that make our world so miserable. love feels like you can be everything and do everything. and it's only through love that we can transcend our material condition and achieve perfect happiness and fulfillment.

Ascension and The Scream.

I've been able to accomplish more than I expected these last days and I'm happy. sometimes I think there's some kind of magic around here that makes me able to do so much and being a mother at the same time.

"Ascension" is almost done. it lacks only a few details now.

I decided to cut off some inches of board at the sides since I wanted to "lighten up" the figures and all that blue and violet in their hair. I committed the mistake of using too much warm colors like yellow and brown in the surroundings, and that kind of stole the attention from the middle.

I've also started working in my next project, which I've been calling "The Scream":







for the ones who've been visiting this blog for a while, this is the picture I planned to make about violence against women. I brainstormed the concept for several days and came to the conclusion that I should express something more dynamic than simply portraying the sadness and despair of the violence victims. I wanted to show solutions and hope. I then decided to "blend" two women: one in attitude of despair and another in attitude of rebelliousness and of breaking of the silence. because I believe that women must stop keeping their mouths shut, for fear, shame or even love. I understand the difficulty of all this. I myself had been a victim of such situations of abuse and this piece is my very own scream... and I wish it could be a scream for other women too, an invitation to put their "masks" aside and rebel. please DO NOT ACCEPT BEING ABUSED. you are a human being, and many times so full of love that you are unable to react. and for the authorities and society in general, I wish more understanding and compassion. I wish you could think in more ways to protect and support the victims of abuse and help them restart their lives with dignity. being a woman has to be a reason for pride and celebration, not to be fearful or feel humiliated.

when this piece is completed, I'd like to offer the rights of reproduction to pro-women rights groups, in case of interest to use it in items that can help maintain them or any other useful purpose. please contact me if you have interest or know somebody that may have.