the speech …

I would like to thank you all for coming, and also thank Mr. Garcia for inviting me to participate in this wonderful event with these two other talented ladies, with whom I have the honor of showing my work.

When I was informed I was expected to give a lecture, I was apprehensive, as I’m not very skilled at public speaking, so please forgive me if I read from this. I’ll try and make this brief and welcome any questions at the end.

. . . . .

I grew up in a household surrounded by books. Before I could read or write, I was flipping through our small collection and marveling at the images within. When other children of that age are usually making up stories of their own to go with the pictures, I was intrigued by images. I recall one of the first books that made such an impact was “One Thousand and One Arabian Nights”. The edition we had was from the early 20^th century and included illustrations by Eric Pape. They were intricate ink drawings that filled every crevice of the plate, and my eyes would be captivated for hours.

That was my earliest memory of being really moved by art. I didn’t understand that this was something someone created, but I could appreciate the details and the wonder at the time. I was about four years old. J

I can best recall my early school years being one of the children who “loved to draw”, and this was to my mother’s frustration, I’m sure. “Go outside and play!” was her favorite line [it usually followed “stop drawing on your homework!”] I was the “go to” person whenever someone had an art assignment and needed help with drawing a horse for Go Texan Day or something similar. [I stopped doing that when one of those drawings I did for someone else actually beat out my very own entry].

In middle school, I usually got to school early and spent my time in the library. It was here that I would sit with periodicals and try to draw the women in them. I was fascinated at the time with fashion and makeup, so this was quite an obsession for me. Little did I know that it was through this first study that I was creating a foundation for what my later works were to be based on. Ever since then, my works have usually been portraits of women, usually beautiful and exotic, and nearly all of them with a certain empowerment.

I took the required art classes in school, but that’s about as far as I got. I still continued to draw, filling my textbook covers and margins of my howework with doodles. Because most of my classes at that time required work to be turned in in ink, my drawings then took a definite turn. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was ink that was to become my greatest tool. By working in ink, one must be cautious about the mistakes they make. I was young and unskilled, so MISTAKES were to be expected. What I DID with those mistakes is learn to work with them in my favor. I still use this technique to this day, by the way. It is very much like the proverbial eastern philosophy about water and accepting what can not be changed, but finding another path. So with ink, whenever I encountered a mistake that could not be erased, I found a way to incorporate it into my work. This sometimes meant changing the drawing entirely. Further, this allowed me to realize that I am not such a strong and skilled artist to portray what is in my head and put it to paper exactly. No, there are many many times that I am faced with a vision, only to find that the final result is nowhere near what I initially had in mind. There have been times that I would fight this and try to force my hand, but to no avail, it would just make things worse. So I learned to accept that sometimes the hand does what it wishes to do and I am powerless to change that.

. . . .

After graduating high school, I had discovered the work of Patrick Nagel, a contemporary artist whose illustrative works were both seductive and powerful. My transition from ink to paint was then first introduced to me by my desire to recreate Nagel’s works. I discovered acrylics by this time, and they allowed me to create the bold pieces that I first began.

My family has always been encouraging about my desire to create, and they’ve always approved of my creations, simple as they may have been. It was until my uncle who saw my reproductions told me that if I ever wanted to do something that would mean something, I should do something for “my people”. “The world is saturated with this kind of art, this pop stuff,” he said, “what you need to do is represent your culture.” I took this to heart and began my journey.

My first love in this search was Diego Rivera. I was captivated at this ability to convey dignity of the Mexican people, even when they were being down-trodden. I also greatly admired his use of space and color. I began to draw inspiration through his works and my work took a different turn by way of this. My pallet became holder, I began to discover different techniques in shading and composition. I still hold Rivera as a great influence over my work. But a trip to the library and book store only fed my desire to learn more about other artists.

I found works by Sargent, Michelangelo, Manet, Degas, Erte, Beardsley, Hopper, Klimt, Yepes, Renoit, and Kahlo. I was also greatly intrigued by many propaganda type works of Russia, Germany and the WPA of America. There were so many styles that I accumulated, ranging from the old masters [Leonardo da Vinci] to outrageous works by Favrist movement [Andre Derain], that I did the only thing I could and studied them all. Usually this entailed my trying to recreate or reproduce a certain work of art. I would gauge my success on how closely I replicate these works. I then realized that if I ever meant to get serious with my work, I HAD to develop a style of my own.

The internet brought about great change for me. It was here that I received validation. Total strangers were telling me they thought I was talented. My friends and family had been telling me this for years, but in the back of my mind, I always felt they were a little biased. Things took off for me at this point and I was endowed with the confidence I needed in order to “take my work to the real world”. I got my break by meeting with Richard Reyes at Talento Bilingue de Houston and was given my very first exhibit. That was so many years ago, and I have been fortunate enough to find that most of the shows I’ve been in have been through invitation.

Never one to limit myself or possibilities, I’m always on the look out to try new things, new mediums. I usually fall back in a comfort zone, but that zone usually changes as I’m sure to have discovered something new, and my approach is different. The saying is true … you can’t go home again. But after such a journey, do you really want to? or would you rather see what’s just beyond the horizon.