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.

50% off!!!!

Yes, yes, during all May all my art is 50% off their regular prices. No kidding. Please visit my store on E-crater to see all the pieces still available. And they are going fast.

As some of you may be aware of, I will be moving town very very soon, so I decided to do a studio cleaning. It will be good to have a fresh start also artistically, so I want the pieces to go with the past that turns its back to me slowly. I am a lover of changes, challenges and new beginnings and I have a huge one before me right now. Let's make the best of it.

Half of the Materia Series, Hecate and Witness are still available!!

Why is art so expensive? (and why you, as an artist, shouldn't sell yourself cheap)

I eventually receive inquiries from people with a tight budget but genuinely interested in buying my art. They want to barter. They want to bargain. Not rare I feel compelled to accept the proposals since I feel so much love in them. It is a tough decision. I have collectors and people who have paid the listed price for my pieces, and I feel like it is not fair to them. A lot of people really appreciate art and would like to become collectors, however, collecting art is a pricey game. Everywhere people ask why a piece of art is so expensive. I don't have a lot of time in the business but I think I can answer a few questions, at least only superficially. Also, don't forget to check my friend Tammy Mae Moon's post about the same subject, in which she covers some other costly details about artwork prices.

An artist is a professional like any other and needs to earn a living. Because creative activities are so associated to fun and "childlike" things, there's a general mentality that artists are not really "working". (First, it is necessary to get rid of this mentality that "work" has to be associated to sacrifice. Anybody could, and should, have pleasure in what they do, but this is another story.) Paying for a work of art is also paying for the artist's time to produce that piece -- which is not likely to be leisure time. I, for instance, evaluate my time at $40 dollars a hour. To make a living, I need to work an estimate of  X hours a month. Anything below that, means less items in my grocery cart, or problems to pay for my health insurance. I am a professional artist, so I make art. I am not hobbying. So, if you want my art, it will cost you money, just like your dentist's, or your plumber's time. Is that simple. The time I spend working in a certain piece will determine its minimum price. If I spend 4 hours in a certain painting, it cannot be sold at less than $160 (notice that only very small and simple pieces take such a short time to be completed.) Some additional actions and elements will also add to this price. Most paintings need research. You need reference images, you need to study your palette, you need preliminary studies of composition and other details. Good art supplies cost a lot of money. And wait, there's also an electricity bill to be paid for, you need a lot of light to paint, don't you? The artist's experience and skill are also a plus, for they take an awful long time to be acquired. I would say a lifetime.


Do you see a "made in China" label here? A piece of art is a one-of-a-kind product. When you buy one, you are buying something that only you, among billions of people, will possess. It will never be any other like that, never, even if the same artist struggle to produce something similar. Differently from a mass produced object, it is something embed in emotion. It is a bit of that artist's soul, something that deeply reflects their moment and spirit at the time when that piece were produced.

Think that talent is free? Think again. When you buy a work of art, you are buying the product of years of training, observation, and not rare, a lot of emotional ups-and-downs. If you went to an art school or had some formal training, you probably spent lots in tuitions, books and other educational materials. If you are a self taught artist, and has nobody to show you the pathway of rocks, you have spent long years into solitary study and training. Talent is not a precious gift from heaven. It is cultivated. It is not like pressing a button and the artist starts creating like a crazy robot. Art IS hard work. There's no other way. And hard work costs money.

Painting is an investment. Lots of people buy art as an investment.The art market fluctuates a lot, but when an emerging artist keeps producing and growing, the tendency is that they will sooner or later gain popularity and their value in the market will increase. If a collector buys one of your pieces that costs $500 today, within a few years or even less it can value a lot more. So, when you are buying art from an active and promising artist, you are also applying your money in something that has been considered an attractive investment for centuries.

Image credits: Money Family, Photo manipulation. www.freakingnews.com

back home.

i've been in Seattle WA for 10 days and came back last week. it was a lovely Spring break in an amazing, inspiring city. chances are that i will be moving there in the next few months, so, if you are a Seattle artist and/or crazy visionary and want to socialize or partnering for future projects, let me know! and if you want to hire me for art + design projects or classes, then we should REALLY talk.

in the last days i have been focusing on deadlines and makeovers. my website is finally back, and although temporarily lacking some info and functionalities i would like it to have, is holding all the basic information and the paintings are all there. i will also launch an online store on the site, so people won't need to go somewhere else to buy my originals. things are also changing around here, as you may have noticed. :)

back soon with the latest news.

My baby and me in the Des Moines marina.

slowly but surely

the last weeks have found me very prolific, although i have been doing things in a very chaotic manner. i have been dedicating good part of my time to my art direction work for the lingerie company, which is bringing me great satisfaction and excitement. it is bothering me that i am not really seeing a lot of my independent production finished, and my online presence is being sort of neglected lately. i really apologize for all the unanswered emails, messages and comments. the day is just too short, the energy runs out sooner that desired and my time on the computer really has to be limited to what really matters (my migraines have killed me). as soon as i can afford it i need to hire an assistant. my slow rhythm and inability to get organized is not really being compatible with all the stuff i need to accomplish and to the very rhythm of my own muses.

so lately i have been doing these...



The Travelers, acrylics and pencil on masonite board. this work is going very, very slowly. i am experimenting, savoring the work, living every second of it since there is a lot of emotional involvement. not sure if it is going for sale either. my heart is in it.



Sunny, pencil on bristol board. more experimentation on new languages of illustration.



Changing Woman, illustration for the project of the same name. this is the second version, and i am happier; probably going to stick with it. this is a project i have been growing inside me for a while and giving birth slowly. going to tell more about it soon!