Happy Holidays

What is that silent noise????

The silence on my blog must have been deafening, but I just couldn't find the time nor the peace inside me to blog. I was painting!!

The summer was filled with wonderful projects: mural, drawings, paintings and live painting.

First I was invited to participate in the beautification of Carol City School in Miami Garden aka "Art in the Gardens". This school has fought to make it a safe place for their students in a challenging environment. Part of this project was to bring uplifting art to the students via their walls. 

"Little Winner"

This was my contribution to the project: a reminder that they all have talents, some more obvious than others, but nevertheless. I painted it in the colors of the school.. so my usual red was replaced with a bright orange. And I like it.

I also got the wonderful news that one of my pieces was selected for the Seventh All-Media Juried Biennial at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood (FL). A huge honor as only some 80+ are selected from over a 1000 entries. 

"Dona Isabel and her Control" in good company at the Biennial.

In the mean time I was also working on 2 commissions:
A little Frida and a piece based on the "Girl interrupted at her music" by Vermeer.

"Little Frida" (2015)
9" x 12"
Acrylics on boxed wood

"Planning a Gourmet" (2015)
30" x 30"
Acrylics on canvas

And this was not  all... but I know that breaking the silence with too much noise is never a good idea... so I will keep the other projects for the next blog... See you soon.

And let the scamming begin...

Credit Jantoo.com

It is that time of the year again... the prelude to Art Basel Miami. Even though the actual shows start in December... the scouting, booking and - in some cases - scamming the artists has begun again. Last year was the wonderful scam of 100 bags with 100 cards to be handed out to a select group of collectors and galleries... for a mere $ 275.00 per artist.

This years' try and - believe me - looks legit, until you take a closer look. And that people is really what it is all about... take a good look!!!

I have removed the name of the show but not the contents of their email(s) and made my observations in blue between their lines.
Our Marketing Plan for the Art XXXX Basel, 2015 Event

An invitation to participate in an art show during Art Basel Week in Miami, Florida· Thirty Day Event – Art XXXX Basel, 2015· December 1st – December 31st , 2015
(that is nice.. a whole month... not a soul in sight after Art Basel has ended because the people are tired after 5 days of BASELTON) 

· Location – Wynwood Arts District – Best arts district in Miami
· 565 NW 27th Street, Miami, Florida
(Location, location, location...and this location is not prime Wynwood... you will not get the full blast of Wynwood, unless you are that avant-garde gallery worth roaming the streets for) 
· To be held during Art Basel Week – 200,000 art lovers, collectors and art resources descend on Miami for the art shows and fairs· Opening Vernissage – December 5th, 2015 – coinciding with the openings of the other art fairs – 3000 people expected
(Now... did they say that 200,000 art lovers are crowding the streets of Wynwood... NO, it is the whole of Miami... and they expect 3000 people to come to the vernissage... 3000 expected, doesn't mean at all that they will attend)  
· Thirty day Events – Performance art, music, lectures will be held throughout the show· Promotion – Email Marketing, Social Media, Banners, Flyers, Handouts at the larger events
(First ones are email, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter... and they will ask you to do the same. Banner is for the front of the building, and handouts at the larger events means that they haven't done their marketing.. but oh well do not worry, we will hand out a flyer at a larger event during Art Basel and who knows... ) 
· Miami Networking Professional – Hired to invite and attract collectors and art enthusiasts
(Get a popular girl to get friends over for free drinks... and the artists paid for it) 
· Event Space Next Door - Show will coincide with a number of fashion and media events held next door
(If anything, we might be able to lure in a lost soul from next door)

Our goal is the exposure of your work and with a little bit of help from you, your friends and collectors we can make Art XXXX Basel, 2015 a wonderful beginning to the art season in Miami.
(We have no real connections, so pay for the wall and bring your friends, in case our popular girl aka Networking professional cannot persuade her friends to come and have a drink... this way we make the 3000 people attending reality.)

The cost to show is $375 for a wall space 10' High X 3' Wide or 5' High X 6' Wide. Larger spaces are available!
(Oh this is good! Either you get a wall space for 1 painting of maximum 30" wide, but of course you could hang multiple paintings above each other... because you are curating your own wall. Or you can entertain either the little people (under 5') of the giants (over 5'), so you need two spaces above each other to hang on eye sight of your average person. And that is not including your 25% commission if you are lucky to sell something. 
Of course they want you to get larger spaces more money for them without doing anything) 


Now... we all want to show at Art Basel.. we might sell.. we might connect with that gallery we are dying to show in, we might even be invited to show in a different city... but these vanity places are not the places where the real buyers, scouters and galleries will go to.
There is no curating... anyone who pays, hangs aka your masterpiece could hang next to someones 8 y/o absolutely talentless nephew.
Avoid these vanity places because they don't want to show you, nor promote you... they are there to fill their own pockets with your money.

DALI & ME

Several weeks ago I was contacted by a curator with the question if I was interested in participating in an exhibition based on the work of Dali. Each artist would choose from a selection of prints by Dali and make their own interpretation of it. 

And before I even knew what pieces I could choose from, I already said yes. Do something based on a master's piece: NO BRAINER!

She send me a list of prints to choose from and soon enough one jumped out for me: A Flordali from 1969 named "Les Fruits Pomegranate" also known as "Pomegranate and Angel".

I started reading about the fruit and its symbolic meaning and found out that the pomegranate has been used throughout history and in almost every religion as a symbol of humanity's most fundamental beliefs and desires, including life and death, rebirth and eternal life, fertility and marriage, abundance and prosperity. Almost every aspect of the pomegranate has come to symbolize something . . . its shape, color, seeds, juice.

For instance the pomegranate is often seen in paintings and statues of the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus as a symbol of resurrection and everlasting life.


Then I realized that, while drinking the juice often, I had never seen the inside of a pomegranate (yeah, I know...). So when I started to paint the actual pomegranate I used a "live model".

Little Angel and the Pomegranates (2015)
30" x 40"
Acrylics on Canvas
SOLD

I painted a little girl (a little angel) on a swing carried by Pomegranates with an open fruit next to her. I wanted to incorporate as much as the symbolism as possible without limiting myself to one meaning. True, my little angel has no wings but my mother would call me a little angel - when I was a little girl - in a more 
sarcastic way... so no wings.


At the gallery each interpretation piece was next to the Dali of the artists' choice and, I must admit, I was a little nervous to hang side by side with Dali.

The opening at MAC Fine Art in Fort Lauderdale was a success: The Little Angel sold!!

This and 32 more interpretations can be seen at MAC Fine Art in Fort Lauderdale until August 15. Show was put together and curated by Rochi Llaneza.

Busy, busy, busy...

I haven't been blogging since the end of March and for a reason. I have been really busy!

First a wonderful commission. This was one that I enjoyed truly as I was given complete freedom in my interpretation of an grown-up woman as one of my little girls... and the new owner (the actual woman) loves her.

"Little Maria" (2015)
24" x 30"
Acrylics on Canvas

Then I had to prepare things that all had to come together in the beginning of May, such as:

3 plates for "Touching Miami with Love", a local charity for which I have been painting and donated plates in the last 3 years.  

Happy and proud to tell you that they were sold almost immediately upon opening the event. Not that it matters how fast it sold, but it is nice to be able to brag a little. Even better, the lady who bought them told me that she missed the last years plate because somebody else bought it right before she got there. So this year she was very early.

On the first of May I was Live Painting  with 10 other artists to celebrate the first anniversary of a local magazine "Talking of the Wall". All the pieces went into a silent auction and the proceeds were split 50/50 with the artists (which makes it even better to paint live, believe me).

"Going Home?!" (aka Graby Gabby) 2015
36" x 36"
Acrylics on Canvas

In 3 hours I set up and painted the piece and the lady who won the silent auction was so happy that she kept buying me Tequila shots... I love customers like that!


In my studio I finished a piece that I had on the easel for a while. Sometimes you need to put a piece aside before you can finish it to make sure that you are doing the "right" thing.

"Little Amelia and her First Airplane" 2015
20" x 24"
Acrylics on boxed wood

 And then there is a chair for the "Take a Seat" event of the IFDA (International Furnishings and Design Association) of which the proceeds go to Kid Sanctuary Campus.

"Into the Deep" 2015
reconstruction of chair with 2 wooden panels
Acrylics on wood

So what can I tell you... other than I have been busy...

WALL BRAWL March 2015

I was invited to participate at the Wall Brawl Miami to support the Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Florida. For those of you who do not know what a Wall Brawl is: a contest between artists to create a piece of art within a very limited time frame of a few hours.
 
I had never done a Wall Brawl before and I was a little worried: 3 hours to paint a piece of 24" x 48"... I never done that.. well since my days at the Art Academy (little time to do homework so it was mandatory to be extremely fast). So needless to say I was nervous about it, not only because of the time frame but also because I was going to be painting next to (street) artists whose work I truly like.

photo credit: Alessandro Abate

So there I was... nervous, thrilled and did I say nervous at the same time. I set my things up and started painting like a mad woman...
And the 3 hours passed by like it was nothing and 3 hours of pure joy for me.. Not only had I fun painting the piece, I had some pretty nice encounters with the audience and it was a pleasure to see the other artists work develop during the event. 

The pieces were in a silent auction and people could bid on it all through the night and also vote for their favorite piece.
The bidding closed the moment the artists had to put down their spray cans/brushes... and all the pieces sold!!!

Photo credit: Mitchell Zachs

Including this little girl... and then The Hitman (my partner in all my crimes) came running to me and told me that they were calling my name... I won the Wall Brawl!!!

photo credit: Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Florida

 
My first Wall Brawl and I won my first trophy ever... and we all sold our pieces, making a sweet amount for the Ronald McDonald House charities!! 

The making of: "Together - an interpretation of a peaceful moment"

It started with the reference painting - my muse piece if you want - : "Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper. This painting always seem to have reflected a loneliness, the sort you see so often after closing hours, the last coffee before going home. There is almost an embracing silence where the only one using words is the server.

In my rendition of this painting I wanted to capture silence as well, however a different sort of silence: a conversation between children interrupted by the viewer, they stop talking and look at us. We are outside of the diner and outside of their conversation, invading their moment together. 

Where Hopper's painting depicts a perfectly empty street, I wanted to insert a sense of danger and in the left side of the painting I included debris of a building collapsed which contrasts both the rest of the street as well as the clean bright interior of the diner. The children inside the diner, dressed up like super heroes, seem to be safe (for now) from whatever was/is happening outside.

"Together - an interpretation of a peaceful moment" was painted in Paynes Grey, Neutral Grey, Titanium White, and Permanent Red.

Update on "Who's fooling Who?"

Together (an interpretation of a peaceful moment) and Little Cat Girl

In my previous post I wrote about the show "Who's fooling who?" curated by Jill Slaughter.

I was a little worried - stage fright if you want - if my work was up to par. Jill was selected the curator of the year 2014 by the New Miami Times and I know she pushes the artist with each of her shows.

We almost had a misunderstanding because I thought she meant that I was one of the artists in the main gallery with a part of a wall or one wall at best, but she choose me to be the artist with 3 walls in the main Gallery in Studio 18.  

Narrative by Jill Slaughter

Little Cat Girl (2015) - Little Captain America (2014) - Little Batman (2015)

Little Cat Girl 2015
24" x 20"
Acrylics on Boxed Wood

Now back in the studio and working on new pieces... for a new show.

2015 starts with a new show

First exposition of the New Year and a very important one for me: "Who's fooling Who? - an exploration of the deceptive" curated by Jill Slaughter at Studio 18 in Pembroke Pines.
It is always an honor for me to be in a show curated by Jill as she always adds the link to the community.

The exposition is about abuse - any kind of abuse in the family, in a war situation, bullying at schools - and how both the abuser and the abused take on different roles and not always the one we expect. There is so much more than meets the eye. 

I understand that as no other because my father was quite the unpredictable bully at home.. but outside as charming as can be: at home he was feared and outside he was loved and admired. It was a strange secret that could not be shared because people would not believe us.

Little Batman (2015)
14" x 18"
Acrylics on boxed wood

I chose to paint children as little superheroes.. dressed up and ready to change their world. I did not want to show them as victims but as creative little beings coping with the situation with imagination and hope. In one of the paintings I show the 3 little superheroes coming together in the dinner (after "Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper) where they are safe... for a moment together. There are other pieces of my Proprietary Innocence Series included as they are a little "deceptive"..

This exposition is a group show in which the curator brought wonderful artists together like Erman, Yuhmi Collective, and Maria Mor, just to name a few.

Part of the proceeds the show will benefit "No more Tears" an organization which helps women and children suffering from domestic violence.

Below is a link to the article in the Sun-Sentinel about this exposition and that is always a cherry on top of the...

http://www.southflorida.com/theater-and-arts/sf-pines-whos-fooling-who-studio-18-20150106,0,3722820.story

which aids women and families suffering with domestic violence. - See more at: http://www.southflorida.com/theater-and-arts/sf-pines-whos-fooling-who-studio-18-20150106,0,3722820.story#sthash.3aGyho85.dpuf

which aids women and families suffering with domestic violence. - See more at: http://www.southflorida.com/theater-and-arts/sf-pines-whos-fooling-who-studio-18-20150106,0,3722820.story#sthash.3aGyho85.dpuf

which aids women and families suffering with domestic violence. - See more at: http://www.southflorida.com/theater-and-arts/sf-pines-whos-fooling-who-studio-18-20150106,0,3722820.story#sthash.3aGyho85.dpuf

Happy New Year!!

Fire works at the Binnenhof in The Hague

Happy New Year

Gelukkig Nieuwjaar
Buon Anno Nuovo
Feliz Año Nuevo
Bonne Année
feliz Ano Novo
С Новым Годом
明けましておめでとうございます
З Новим Роком
新年快乐
Glückliches Neues Jahr
Selamat Tahun Baru
नया साल मुबारक हो

Sretna Nova godina
Среќна Нова Година

Ευτυχισμένο το Νέο Έτος

Bon Fire in Scheveningen, The Netherlands 2014/2015
officially the largest one ever !!

Wherever you are, whatever you do, whatever you dream, whomever you love, whatever you create: Have a Great 2015!!