Fire in Her Hair: A Rebirth of Venus

I've been away "surviving" hurricane Maria. I was fortunate that it didn't do damage to my home, but it did cause months-long power outages in my area. I've had power since January (the hurricane happened in September 2017) but we still get occasional outages, about once every 2-3 weeks, for several hours or a couple of days at a time. Each time they are going to rebuilt part of the electric grid, they have to shut down parts of the island of Puerto Rico, where I've been living since 2012.

In any case, I survived and I've been painting but I wanted to start showing some of the paintings I've (finally!) posted online for sale as originals or prints.

Today I'll talk introduce "Fire in Her Hair"...one of my favorite experiments in art. I've always been inspired by the Birth of Venus, by Botticelli, so I decided to make - not a copy - but a "modernized version"..of her face....a version that would travel from the time of Botticelli to ours, yet retain her air. I therefore saturated the complementary colors present in the original painting and emphasized the line. The original is made with acrylic paint on gessoed paper and measures 11 inches x 15 inches.

It's one of my favorite paintings, for its vibrant colors and calm mood. It moves yet it stares at us as it moves.
If you enjoy it as much as I have, you can get a canvas print of it, posters, or other printed home decor and stationery items at Fine Art America, where I have one of my little shops. 

I deeply appreciate your purchasing my art! Thank you and thanks for visiting my blog! :) 

Here she is:

           

Feel inspired?

Gorgeous Portuguese House... Alentejo style :)

ArtesVives Casa no Alentejo Canvas Print
by ArtesVives

Unfinished Work #1

Well, this is the first pastel I am showing to the world in this blog. It is made with Rembrandt pastels and Gioconda pastel pencils, then covered with a workable fixative. I am awaiting self-satisfaction with the painting before applying the final coat for protection from light and time.
I love still life paintings, ...although I prefer portraits. But sometimes, beauty is in little things that do not talk, Still life is, in a way, a portrait..a portrait of life as it surrouds us. Things like bread, some fruit, rosemary, an old book and artisan work. This one depicted is inspired by ceramics from the Algarve region, in Southern Portugal. I will be posting a follow-up finished version of the painting in a few days.
Will love to receive your comments. Add yourself to my page if you feel so inclined. I speak English, Portuguese and Spanish and... I can read and write some French.
Stay tuned and thanks for visiting!! :)