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.

back to walk.

the days pass by and the pain gets minimized. what is fear becomes hope, and while the bad remembrances go fading we become more confident. my little one is recovering amazingly well, I must say. in the days that followed the accident she was already full of life, playing and running around the house - and making us crazy with fear that something bad could happen again. I spent almost one week with uncomfortable, unpleasant kind of post traumatic stress emotions.

but today I grabbed my brushes to try to complete Ascension - which is not being an easy task. I also managed to make a logo for the studio and to organize my to-do lists and projects. tomorrow I must give the last retouches in a portraiture project. yes, it's life and normalcy smiling to me again, and I'm very thankful.

Image: Corbis

a break for not very happy reasons.

things are not going very well here. my little daughter suffered a domestic accident and got very hurt. sorry, but I won't give many details, just want to say that was sort of serious and a really really hard time. after nearly 3 days in the excellent UK Children's Hospital, where she had exemplary treatment, we could finally come back home with hopes that the worse has already passed. after all that happened I must say that it is a miracle to have my baby with us doing as well as she can be right now. I thank God and all the good spirits and entities of light that have been taking care of us during these difficult times, giving us hope and strength. I may spend some days without touching my brushes since she needs full time attention now, and I appreciate all the vibrations of health and prayers that can be sent to us for her full recovery. may the Supreme Intelligence of the Universe bless us all.

work in progress: Ascension II

the figure on the top looks shamelessly like me since I've been posing for my paintings more often lately. no problem, I like to sit for myself. but the figures are becoming too much alike me, and this is why I am in desperate need of models who can make sort of performatic poses. anybody?