feeling a bit restless and creative, i tried my hand at one of the tutorials and started work on this little nicho .. which is nearly done after 7 wonderful hours of blissful creativity. and inspiration courtesy of the devil himself. thanks for a great follow up to one of my all time favorite books, “Secrets of Rusty Things“, maestro.

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Now playing: Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli – Chasing Shadows
via FoxyTunes

The photos I had taken, which are on my flickr account, were from his being sworn in as municipal judge. It was a great day that i was happy to have been a part of.

[shown here with Annise Parker and Berta Mejia, who both
shared their words and memories at his memorial earlier this year]

The December issue of Texas Monthly has a wonderful article of prominent Texans who passed away in 2009. Among them:  Walter Cronkite, David “Fathead” Newman, Farah Fawcett and Patrick Swayze.  And most notably, and personally, my dear friend John Paul.  [technically originally from Michigan, Texas adopted him as its native son ... and proudly so].

You are missed, my friend.

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Now playing: John Cale – Hallelujah
via FoxyTunes

Donna Moore’s “Old Dogs” … with my artwork on the cover

can’t wait to sink my teeth into it. thanks, david and donna!!

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Now playing: Maurice Ravel – Le Tombeau De Couperin: Forlane
via FoxyTunes

i am donating the following piece to Beautiful Grim

Anais Nin
12 x 6 inches
oil, ink and wax on wood

why this piece? because Anais Nin embodies the spirit of womanly strength, tenderness, love and creativity, all that i feel this cause is about.

please visit the website for more information about the cause and the artists participating.

Tangerine, she is all they claim
With her eyes of night and lips as bright as flame
Tangerine, when she dances by, senoritas stare and caballeros sigh
And I’ve seen toasts to Tangerine
Raised in every bar across the Argentine
Yes, she has them all on the run, but her heart belongs to just one
Her heart belongs to Tangerine
She: Tangerine, she is all they say
With mascara’d eye and shadow by Dache.
Tangerine, with her lips of flame
If the color keeps, Louis Philippe’s to blame.
And I’ve seen clothes on Tangerine
Where the label says “From Macy’s Mezzanine”.
Yes, she’s got the guys in a whirl, but she’s only fooling one girl
She’s only fooling Tangerine!
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Now playing: Ultra Lounge Instrumental – Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Charles Mingus – Cannonball Adderly-1(1)
via FoxyTunes

detail shots:

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Now playing: Buddy Holly – Girl On My Mind
via FoxyTunes

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Now playing: Green Day – Longview
via FoxyTunes

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Now playing: Ella Fitzgerald – A Man & A Woman
via FoxyTunes

a transition between nightbreed and something else i accidentally fell into with this piece. one of my favorite things is fusing styles, old and new. with this, although accidental, it sparked in me a desire to continue with the bold motif, but with a hint of art nouveau. nightbreed had a touch of rococo flourish that i also want to revisit.

group art exhibit, musical and dance performances

sorry i haven’t been around or answered any email from six06; i’ve not been able to access my site / email for over a week now. [not sure what the problem is except it happens every time i try to update the "resume" page ... even after having updated to the latest version of wordpress].

at any rate, i missed getting to promote the following event that just happened yesterday [but is ongoing for a bit] at Gallery ChimMaya:

i would love to see some photos from the opening night, i bet it was great.

in other news, been really really busy with readying for several upcoming events. it’s been a very productive period.

spending most of my online time over at Facebook:  fan page / personal

here is a wonderful review of said book: [click]

if you don’t have a copy yourself, get one today at broken sword publications.

WOW! has it really been this long since i sent out a newsletter? i guess it has!

First of all, let me wish everyone a Happy New Year … seven months later. Hope 2009 has been good to you. I know we’ve all fallen on some hardships recently with the economy, but i hope things begin looking up for everyone. To ease the pain, I will attempt to keep this brief.

consignment :

after a successful year with Blanca at the wonderful book store in the heights, Heights Books Libros ,she has invited me to continue to carry my works there. thanks, Blanca!

past events :

here are galleries of photos i have taken for past exhibits and events [please note that i'm usually BEHIND the camera, rather than in FRONT of it, heh]:

third annual frida festival– [click here to see the photos i took]

gallery chimmaya — several exhibits at this FANTASTIC gallery in los angeles [the highlight for me was seeing my work on display right next to my idol, george yepes]

el corazon 2009 — accompanied by several artist friends who also had their work on display, we dubbed this “The Good Latina Trip ” [and we'll be having an exhibit at bohemeo's this coming october and will call it "the good latina'.]

neopopstreetfunk — fantastic show that night. can’t say enough good things about it.

natura fragilis — in dallas, a show on assemblage art. i’m fairly new to this medium so i was very honored to be asked to participate.

latin grammy art exhibition — once in a lifetime event. it was great. the perks were even better.

surely i’m leaving out quite a bit, but like i said, i wanted to make it brief.

so what’s on the horizon?

here is a list of things happening in july. and if you’ll notice, they all happen to occur ON THE VERY SAME DAY.  i wish i could attend all three, but i can’t. i will, however, be in attendance in Huntsville. all events are important, but if you had to choose just one, may i suggest the Alexis Kidd Medical Benefit. it would mean a great deal to me and her loved ones if you did.

upcoming events :

J U L Y

• Alexis Kidd Medical Benefit  : saturday, july 18th [more info] crazy oaks bar; galveston, texas
• Cornucopia : saturday, july 18th  [more info] sam houston state university museum; huntsville, texas
• Arte Caliente : saturday, july 18th [more info] betz gallery; houston, texas

a closing word :

in these hard times, sometimes it is difficult to see the good in our present. but have faith in love and family and the small things we take for granted, and you too will find that these days are indeed blessed. i am grateful to all my family, friends and loved ones for their continued support. as long as we have that, what else matters.

peace.

-julie zarate

just a reminder, visit my etsy shop, where i offer a great many handmade items, including original paintings.

www.six06.com

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Now playing: Cannonball Adderley – Hurricane Connie
via FoxyTunes

also, here is the gorgeous frame i picked out for The Virgin Queen before she was even complete:

i had to do a bit of fancy work to get her to fit, as it was a bit less than a 5 x 7 opening. more like 4.8 x 6.8. eesh.

also, here are two of a three gilded and hand-painted giclees that will be in the show:

i’m exhausted. but i have a bit more work to do before i turn in. tomorrow’s going to a long day.

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Now playing: Joanna Newsom – This Side of the Blue
via FoxyTunes