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.

in progress: spirits + the scream

in the skin.

last week I received by email a photo that made me feel very flattered.

yep, it's one of my works, The Chemistry. it was picked by sweet Michelle, an inspired artist from California, to become a tatoo. she told me that she saw herself "reflected in the piece", and that for me is really really rewarding. in fact, inspiring people with my work is the main reason why I do it. it's priceless to see that somebody felt so touched at the point of registering it in her own skin.

the tatoo is not yet finished in the pic, but I'll have new photos of the work done pretty soon. thank you, Michelle! hope your tatoo brings you lots of good things.

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.

about Hecate

so I finished Hecate some days ago, right after the New Year. although I still think that there are things to be corrected, I got proud for this being a kind of milestone for me. first because it's the first "large" piece I make (20 x 15 inches), practically double the size of my former drawings; second, because it's the first work on illustration board I really managed to finish; and third, because is the first finished work of my new phase (I have 2 more pieces on paper I started several weeks ago but have not showed here yet.)

now, let's go to the story:
the piece was initially planned to portray Lilith. then, I added the two heads beside the main figure, which immediately reminded me of the triple aspect of a goddess I was very fond of: Hecate, the Greek goddess of witchcraft, childbirth and the crossroads. Hecate has power over skies, earth and sea, which I wanted to show in each one of the three figures. the central one carries several symbols attributed to the goddess: the pomegranates in her hair remind us of the legend of Persephone, in which she plays an important role; while she hides her right eye behind her hand, the eye still shows through the fingers, showing that she's got the "vision", or the capacity of seeing the past, present and future. the moon under her right breast denotes that Hecate is a moon goddess, and that she protects the women in labor and their offspring - the moon is associated to the motherhood. the black dog is one of her companions.

Hecate symbolism is so rich that your imagination simply flies away. I tried to be the simplest I could when showing her main attributes. who knows I can make another picture of her in the future.

William Blake, Hecate or The Three Fates

work in progress: Hecate II

in general, that's the phase I like best... when there's no much color, just some pale underpainting... and graphite enhanced by the light surface of the board...

work in progress: hecate