Energizing Radiance

Materia at Gallery Fifty Six, Memphis, TN - Energizing Radiance Show 

in Progress: Lady of the Serpents (or Self-Portrait with Serpents)

Another self portrait. No, I am not obsessed with my own image (although I am a Leo rising), I am just the easiest and cheapest model I can find. ;) Actually this portrait has a good reason to be. It is the development of a dream I had, 2 nights before turning 40. A friend of mine suggested me to paint the dream, and here it is. I'll talk more about the dream as the work progresses.



This is the first version. The detail is cool, but the vision of the whole seemed a little overwhelming to me, so I decided to redo it. It took me a little training to get adapted to how the acrylics behave on gessoed masonite. I am a little spoiled by the absorbency of the paperboard and had a bit of a hard time trying to get the glazes to have the same transparency on the board surface.

Second version so far is looking like this:

Portrait of Mabel

after this is finished, I am going to take a break of portraits and commissioned art to dedicate myself to design projects. I am in a transitional phase, still experimenting on masonite, trying to accommodate my style and find the best technique. and I am absolutely anxious to finally give form to "O Fortuna".

updates, finally

about two weeks with no updates, not typical... but, aside from working on a commission, I've not been doing much lately, painting-wise. after several weeks pondering the cons and pros, i finally decided to set up a design business with a friend of mine. I worked as a web and graphic designer for a while before coming to US, and at first I was not very enthusiastic to come back to (one of my) former careers, but finally I thought that yes, it could be fun - and profitable. so, in the last days I've been playing around with codes and Photoshop to set up the agency, which i hope to launch within a couple weeks. but don't worry, it does not mean I will be putting my life as a traditional artist aside. in fact, things will get even more exciting, since i will be able to leave my art free and not getting submitted to certain demands in order to make an income. or so I hope.  ;)

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about Josie Ratley's help, I thought I should let you know about a change of plans. I've found this website, which belongs to the institution that is helping collect funds for her recovery, and learned that Josie's family has no health care coverage. They are relying on donations to help her daughter to get better. so, I thought that maybe the money raised could be more useful if applied in her treatment instead of a gift. let me know what you think.

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one week without internet, folks. take good care of yourselves. and if you are in Memphis TN this weekend, check out the Energizing Radiance show at the Gallery Fifty Six. my Materia Series will be there in flesh. I had planned to go, but I broke a tooth last week and will have to leave a little fortune at the dentist's office -- i.e., the trip money. yes, i am poor. buy my pieces, please. :P

... and the winner is...

Happy Litha, everyone! I must say that I am very happy with the Solstice Giveaway results, and I am very grateful for your generosity. We raised $90.67 bucks in e-tickets (minus Paypal taxes), which will for sure buy a nice present for our young Josie (just need to find how to make it get to her!)

And the winner is...

Susanne Murray, from United Kingdom!! wepeeeeee!! *popping champagne*

Congratulations, Suzanne!! Please contact me at solstitium@gmail.com and let me know which one of the pieces you prefer and how we can arrange shipping.

Drawing was made using The Hat software. People who bought more than one e-ticket were added to the list more than once, with numbers after their names. To the ones who didn't win, my respect and good luck next time -- and a big THANK YOU!