 Beatriz de la Fuente equates the Aztec (Mexica) ideal of toltecayol with the creation of things that reach the perfect equilibrium between the dual, opposed elements that could be found throughout the universe", toltecayol, she explains, is "the dialogue between the head and the heart," and "the person who has a dialogue with his or her own heart was known as a toltecatl, today called an 'artist.'" Carolyn Dean, The Trouble with (The Term) Art
Forever Is Now acrylic & mixed media on canvas 30 x 48 in.  3 Upcoming Utah Workshops: FEARLESS ABSTRACT PAINTING
September 17 & 18, 2022 Kimball Art Center, Park City, UT For more information & to register: https://kimballartcenter.org/classes/adult-drawing-duplicate-1/  I know it seems counterintuitive, but I decided to attend an artist residency to get away from my art.
 My work is a celebration. Once, I identified myself as a victim. Broken, deficient, lacking. Today I am empowered, grateful, anew. Through my work, I attempt to illustrate the redemptive power of choice.
The Grand Chorus acrylic & mixed media on canvas 36 x 48 in.  The Pacific Northwest has many faces: beautiful coastlines, verdant landscapes, rainy weather, and spectacular mountains.
For my latest commission painting, I distilled some of my favorite colors and textures of the region including: a map of the Pacific Coast Highway and exposing the canvas to the rain. Burnished acrylic & mixed media painting on canvas 30 x 40 in.  3 Upcoming Utah Exhibitions: ALFRED LAMBOURNE ARTS PROGRAM
Friends of the Great Salt Lake, SLC, UT Friday, September 9 6:30 - 8:30 PM  The roots create the fruits. An homage to my father and his Brazilian "Gaucho" roots. Gaucho is a South American "cowboy" - a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Uruguay, Argentina, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and the south of Chilean Patagonia.
The Golden Calf Brazilian cowhide & metallic gold pigment on canvas 36 x 48 in.  Belonging to where we are is imperative to our well being. For me, this means aligning with my own unique purpose for being here, having the courage and the wherewithal to shape ideas into form, and overcoming my own sense of inadequacy and fear to show up in the world.
There is great strength in being accepted, encouraged and recognized for sharing your unique gift. Much like a yoga practice, painting helps me to belong to where I am by helping me to root, orient and connect to Source.  Incorporating iron-rich, red Utah dirt into my paintings for pigment and texture fills me with excitement. As a child, I used to love to play in the dirt. I suppose I still do! Nature is my muse and my "art store".
I delight in collecting sand and soil from places that have special meaning for me and my clients to mix with acrylic paints and mediums. This creates paintings that have unique, distinctive and cherished aspects of a place in them. |
