The art
My intention when I stand before a blank canvas is to allow my intuition to guide me through the process. I rarely have a plan because when I do I find that the plan interferes with a satisfying result. I do try to follow rules of composition and light versus dark, having a focal point etc., although sometimes my desire to be an action painter using bold strokes and color and taking risks with a variety of mediums take center stage over any rules. As one of my painting heroes, Helen Frankenthaler said, "There are no rules, that is one thing I say about every medium, every picture... that is how art is born, that is how breakthroughs happen. Go against the rules or ignore the rules, that is what invention is about". One thing I can always count on is my focus on whatever I am working on. I am present with the piece and live every stage of the piece, the start, the development stage, the ugly stage and what I call the awakening stage where it all comes together for me. I work hard and I work every day obsessively because I am racing to create my footprint in every piece. I love painting, I refuse to stop learning and exploring in my painting.
The artist
Born in Cuba and grew up in Miami, Puerto Rico and St. Croix , USVI. I live in Cathedral City, CA with my husband Richard and our dog Dougie and cat Celia. Previously from San Francisco I studied abstract acrylic painting under Leigh Hyams, UC Berkeley. I continue to study with various artists. I am a juried artist at the Desert Art Center in Palm Springs where my paintings may be purchased. I am a member of the Desert Plein Air Organization, Artists Council and the Coachella Valley Watercolor Society. I have a degree in Graphic Arts Technology from Miami Dade College and a Bachelor degree in Organizational Leadership from Charter Oak State College. I studied fashion design and illustration at the George Trippon School of Fashion Design, Los Angeles and Sign painting at Los Angeles Trade Technical College. I completed an intensive painting and drawing portraiture (Russian method) course and an artistic anatomy course at the Florence Classical Arts Academy, Florence Italy under Russian masters, Svetlana Kurbatskaia, Svetlana Terekhina and Sergey Kurbatskii. I attend workshops at FCAA in Florence annually. Although my background is in representational art such as portraiture and landscapes, my current focus is in abstract painting where I find I can express myself completely.