And then the silence...

But only here on my blog... because I was busy as...

Painting live and in my studio (at home), in various shows and events and charities... so let me update you with some pictures so you can catch-up while I catch my breath... 


Let's start with Dali and this time the artists were invited to create a portrait of Dali. As Dali was often portrayed in the absurdest surroundings or poses, I always liked this portrait done by Irving Penn from 1947 where Salvador Dali is sitting on a rock.. waiting to strike an absurd pose perhaps and the picture is taken.

Symbolique Sans
48" x 48"
Mixed media on wood

detail of Symbolique Sans

detail of Symbolique Sans

detail of Symbolique Sans

But to honor his passion for symbolism I added the drawers with little secrets  like the elephants, an egg and an ant. One drawer I kept empty.... a small drawer where his heart would be... now empty but once filled.

The Son of Modern Man
18" x 24"
acrylics on Linen

And it didn't stop there as the surrealists were concerned.... I painted my version of the "Son of Man" by Magritte and re-named it " The Son of Modern man". I replaced the apple for a modern apple but by flipping the phone to show the viewer what this Son was looking at.. I realized I had to paint whatever it was up-side-down.


And I painted my version of A Velasquez: the portrait of The Infanta Margarita Teresa of Spain, who I presented with a small problem of loading her phone with no outlet in sight... in 1653 a very common problem I presume. 

Margarita Teresa is not in charge
30" x 40"
Acrylics on canvas

 I also was invited to re-do a room at Macy's in Doral and that was pretty amazing to do... and it was a great opportunity to show my dogs and a cat paintings again. So I went full in including a few hand embellished pillows...

Yup... so far Live is good here in Miami and more to come.. like 2 shows just this week, a commission to finish and who knows what else comes my way.... until next time!

ART BASEL has begun....

Yesterday it actually started... the first events.. the first parties.. the first openings and expositions, and it will continue full blown for a week.

And I.. am showing in three shows:
A Little Brooklyn Water Tower at Elemental

Photo credit: Carol Gregoire

At Spectrum (one of the Satellite Shows in Miami - Midtown) with Life is Art :
2 collaboration pieces and my very own "Girl with the Robot Dog".

Now that last piece also made it into the Around Town Magazine under their Must See Art for Art Basel and this is what the curator Sebastian Laboureau has to say about it:

I am so happy with this, you have no idea.. little by little my hard work pays off.

At Spectrum I will also paint life on Thursday December 4... I have an idea what I will do.. but still a giant collaboration piece with 5 other artists.. it will be a challenge and fun!


Finally I am also showing 2 pieces at Midpoint in the show "North of Modern" curated by Joshua Kingston.
Here is one of them: My take on one of Goya's masterpieces but now with her own control

Dona Isabel and her Control

Yes, this year Art Basel started really well...

For all my fellow artists: street, cross-overs, outsiders, gallery-artists, etc. Have a great Baselton!!

The Art Walk

Every first Friday of the month we have something called the Downtown Miami Art Walk, where almost all the artists in the downtown area have their studios open for everybody and all. For me personally that means that I need to "nice up" up my studio and turn it partially into a gallery so I can present my work in a professional way. 

Once every so many months I even fill the holes and repaint the walls, so everything looks fresh and nice again. Of course I only do this in a month when I do not have many obligations and deadlines. Then we (me and the 2 other artists) prepare the rest of the floor: besides 3 studio spaces, there are 2 gallery spaces, the bar, the hallway and the bathrooms.... and you probably guess it, no more time to work on a painting. 

We made it a rule on our floor that if we do not have an opening, we do not serve alcohol. The Art Walk for us artists means that we work. We present our art, we talk art with the visitors, and of course we hope that we will be able to sell work or at least have a potential buyer come back on another day.

Last Friday was a very nice Art Walk for me as I talked to a lot of new people who showed real interest in my work and I sold 3 pieces of art. 

And when a buyer is so happy to have bought your work that he wants to show that to the world, that makes it even better!!

DIGITAL MIAMI for ART BASEL

I am really excited about the exposition Digital Miami, where I have two large paintings with my children and referring to works by 2 Dutch Masters.


Join us on Tuesday 3 and please RSVP:
http://siqueiros.com/digital-miami/

ITTY BITTY KITTY SHOW

Last night ( February 18, 2013) was the official opening of the online cat-related art show ITTY BITTY KITTY SHOW, featuring more than 50 works by 23 painters, illustrators, photographers and sculptors.

Itty Bitty Kitty Show curators Lil Red Buttons and PBJ

This show is put together by 2 Feline curators aka Lil Red Buttons and PBJ. They were assisted by Colleen Dougher who is the author of Arterpillar: a blog about South Florida art and the people who create it.

Click HERE and enjoy the show...

Call for photos as material to paint

Face 1 (24" x 24" acrylics, ink on canvas)

I am working on a series of paintings of faces from the past. I am always looking on the internet for interesting faces to paint but sometimes I am not sure if I can use them or who to ask for permission.
I do not want to have any problem with copy rights once I have finished painting and I publish it on Facebook or on my blog or in a gallery.

Therefore I am asking everybody who sees this to help me. I am looking for photos of children / young people (not babies) from the past - from all over the world. Your grandmother / father, uncles, aunts, your parents when they were children. Not the usual smile for the camera kind of picture... but the cranky one, the pensive ones the ones with attitude.

Here are 2 examples of what Iam looking for but not limited to (these are pictures taken by Vivian Maier in New York - great pictures but copy righted)

It doesn't matter if it is in color or in black/white, nor the race or if the face is part of a group picture, or if the child is not a close-up (but not too far away either otherwise the close-up is too blurry). 

I am not looking for actual photos but scans / jpeg of photos so you can safely send it to my email without the risk of losing a picture. By sending your picture (jpeg) you will give me permission to use the material for my art project without the expection of any reward.

If I will use your picture I will contact you for more information and if you want I will send you a print (on photopaper) of the painting.

Please send your photo / picture / jpeg to molassooij@hotmail.com

Thank you!!!

Darkness in Pompano Beach

Last night I received the confirmation that my 3 entries are juried into the group show "Darkness" at the Rossetti Fine Art Gallery in Pompano Beach. 

Pretty Pretty Flower

Artists were encouraged to enter works with dark themes and imagery. In other words for the artists to tap into their darker side. I chose to stay with one of my favorite subjects - children - and painted 3 fictional portraits (12" x 12"), using ink, charcoal and 4 colours of Acrylics (White, Red, Grey and Payne's Grey). I did not feel that full colour would do justice to the subjects and chose to stick with a limited palette.

I was aiming for a slightly subtle level of darkness and I was surprised that it was actually hard to restrain myself from going into a"SAW" kind of blood filled darkness, while setting up the portraits.

I am really pleased with the result and of course that I am juried in. The exposition will be open for public October 24th and the opening reception will take place on Thursday 27th from 8 pm - 10 pm at Rossetti Fine Art Gallery in Pompano Beach.

Word and Symbols July 3 - August 10, 2010

The Windish-Hunt Gallery in Coconut Grove, FL had yet another great idea for a show. The subject is "Words & Symbols". It is the kind of subject that inspires a lot of artists, even if we normally do not use words or symbols (-ism) in our work.

I entered two paintings for this show; both are 24"x24" and in acrylics. Normally I work with oil paint, but I also like to work with acrylics. I choose a different style, more colors and more freely and I had a lot of fun in doing so.

The first one is "Change your words and you will change your world" The text starts on the left side of the canvas and finishes on the front. Words are powerful as words can kill, hurt, uplift and actually change your life.

The second is almost the opposite of the first as it refers to silence.

"The title is: "Listen to the colorful words of my silence". This one is inspired by a conversation I had with a close friend about communication within a relationship, or maybe more the lack of it. But the lack of words does not mean that somebody is not communicating. Silence can hold a lot of words and meaning in both a positive or a negative way.
I put the text on the front but in a small font to express the silence.

Both the use of words or silence can be powerful means of expressing yourself.