welcoming March, with a last show and a new shop

so February is gone, and i am glad, because it was a bit of a tough month. in February i prepared 2 shows that i am not exactly proud of, since by getting sick for so long i missed precious days and could not produce much. not kidding: i had exact 4 episodes of mild fever in 30 days (the last one was gone yesterday). but during the breaks i managed to produce a few pieces free of the deadline oppression, and they flew the way they should, and i thought that i should give myself a break from shows until i move back to the Midwest, this Summer.

my last show as a Seattle area artist is happening now at the Red Raven Gallery, in Port Townsend, WA, managed by the awesome Laurie MacClave, to whom i am very grateful for her infinite patience and good humor. it happened that the works were not delivered on time for the opening reception, last Saturday, thanks to the inefficiency of the postal service. luckily i was not the only featured artist and the event could happen, but i was appalled. some artists friends cannot believe how i still rely on the USPS to deliver art, but the truth is that, in 4 years, i never had problems like that when i had to opt by them. anyway, the works made it, and are in display at the Red Raven (click here to know which ones are available), so please contact the gallery in case of interest.

Medicine, pencil and acrylic on panel, 8" x 10", on display at the Red Raven Gallery. Pretty much sold, even before gaining the wall.

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i have also decided to migrate my online store to Storeenvy.com, a fun mix of Etsy and Big Cartel, and say goodbye to my shops at Etsy and E-crater - that has served me so well all these years, but that unfortunately does not seem to have had much attention from its developers lately. patience while i work on new originals... but for now you can find my awesome Modo Arte journals available for purchase, and in super limited stock, so, better hurry!

almost forgot: store here.

cleaning off the spider webs

over two months and no updates? can't believe it.

i am still working on a new version for my website, when time permits. since the new site is powered by WordPress, i've been pondering if i should keep the blog here or migrate it to the website. i have been a Blogger user for years, and i am very fond of it, so the decision has been a little difficult.

meanwhile, lots have happened. i have a new show up, at Vertigo Rising Gallery, here in Everett WA. the show is called Venusian Odyssey and features artworks of artists Carol J Elsip, Cher Clemans, and myself. i am showing some old pieces and a couple new drawings i have prepared exclusively for the show.

Venusian #1 and #2

in December i will be the featured artist at the Habitude Salon and Spa, in Ballard, Seattle, where i will be showing for the first time works in oils and acrylics. the pieces are a blend of geometric abstracts + figurative work. sneak peak of a work in progress:

Leda, oil and acrylic on canvas. Progress detail.

2013 starts well with two more shows around the Seattle area. details coming soon.

around the studio, things are bubbly (and a bit confusing at times). slowly finishing a bunch of commissions i had in line since early this year, with new ones coming. playing more and more with abstracts, which has been greatly opening my perception of color, form, and composition, and also improving my inner sight. i think that my experience with abstract painting deserves a special post. my illustration work has taken a different direction, with bigger contrast color/grey scale, more detailed pencil work, and the return of my first love, the colored pencils. it has become sort of difficult to work following my old direction of colorful water media. this commission will probably be the last piece more or less following that line of work.

Wocekiye, mixed media on illustration board. Progress detail.

also, i have recently signed a contract with Pacifica Tile Art Studio to have my work printed in tile murals. The Chemistry, Yemanja, and Esperance have been already released. 

thank you so very much for all the lovely messages and the valuable support, and my apologies for not being able to return back to you as promptly as i'd like. hope you all had a scrumptious Halloween!

Me as a voodoo doll.

Notebooks in Philippines! (or: Famous and still poor)

So, according to some of my contacts in the beautiful Philippines, I am in all the main bookstores around there. The funny thing is that I didn't know. The story: a company approached me last year inquiring about licensing. After a few days of negotiation, that included a flat fee for use of five images + royalties over items sold, they paid the fee, got the images and never contacted me again. The contract is still here in my hard drive, unsigned. The products are all over the Philippines and God knows where else. I wanted at least  few samples, I love notebooks... :(

I have to admit they did a nice job. I love the details in gold. Images by Ma.Nimfa Ursabia 

This one have some cool details too. Seems to be embossed or something. Image by Armilie Mae

War on Women: posters with my art for free download

I have recently signed with the liberal organization Political Loudmouth granting them rights of reproduction of the four images of my Materia Series in posters and merchandise. PL is a non profit group that battles for liberal causes, like gay marriage, legalization of marijuana, planned parenthood, and other important causes that you are likely to embrace if you want a more egalitarian world. More recently they have established a crusade against what is being called here in US the "war on women":  a group of right wing politicians determined in doing a few sweet things like controlling reproductive rights, cutting women's access to cancer screenings, suspending nutritional support for newborn babies, reducing funds for children's' preschool care, and others. The intention: to force women back to the domestic sphere. Unable to control their fertility and forced to stay home to care for their children, women would leave the workforce, reducing competition with men. More: they would be encouraged to marry earlier and reproducing more, thus realizing a "racial reclaiming" of the nation, while children to immigrant mothers (like me) would lose their birthright citizenship. Something reminding you of some sad events from the first decade of the last century?

The first image has been released and can be downloaded for free here. The responses have been awesome some far. Can't wait to see the next posters.

Workshop + Haiti help

two announcements today. first, is about the Creative Astrology workshop. I've been receiving inquiries from people interested in the workshop but unable to commit to 7 straight weeks of classes. I then decided to split the program in shorter workshops, of 10 days each -- same as the first one, Living the Four Elements. to start, I am releasing two workshops: The Sun's Pathway (starting on Feb 8th) and The Moon Within (starts on March 8th.) Workshops' content will be richer than in the first version, since we'll have more time for each one,  and the price dropped: $30 per workshop. by signing up for both classes, you pay only $50. spaces are limited to 12 people.

Haiti Relief help. UPDATE: yes, my design was accepted yesterday on the CafePress Haiti Relief Store. happy here. they didn't give me the credits (maybe because I have no store set up there?), but it doesn't matter. the good thing is that they have more marketing power and i hope that they are able to sell a lot of stuff. as for the RedBubble products, I'm afraid I'll have to put them on hold now. pity, since the t-shirts are so lovely!


since my design was not accepted on the CafePress store (they got too many submissions and were unable to use them all), i decided to release it on my RedBubble store. it is available as greeting cards, prints and those adorable t-shirts (I particularly love them.)
all the profits I get from those products sales will be donated to a Haiti Relief organization. it seems they will need it for a long time, situation is critical there. of course, RB profits are not that amazing, but every bottle of water bought with donated money counts, so, let's help, folks, even with your minimum. thank you!

busy bee.

I've disappeared for a while for being involved in my new website development, which hopefully I will be able to upload tomorrow. it gave me a little more trouble than I expected, not really for the "technical" part but more for the layout. it did worth the while, I really liked the results. I'm also organizing La Etherea Officina, my official store for direct sales of originals, prints and portraiture. I also have a new mailing list, and if you want to sign in in order to get informed about recent works and other novelties you are totally welcome. members will be granted 15% off their first direct purchase and at each season I'll be raffling a gift - a print, a small original or something else. the only problem is that, at this moment, the raffles will be restricted to US members due to the international shipping costs. but if you live in another country and are willing to pay the shipping, just send me your name and I'll include you in the raffle list.

that's it... back soon!

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...