I am honored to have three of my paintings showcased in the upcoming show “Senses” at Art Mozaik Fine Art Gallery in Santa Fe. “Harvest Moon”, “First Steps” and “Sower of Seeds” will all be on displace at the reception on Friday November 1st from 5pm-7pm and will stay up throughout the month. If you are in the area please stop by the opening reception and enjoy some beautiful artworks!
My Thoughts on Social Media and Artistic Nudity
I want to say something regarding my recent painting “Same Breath” and how instagram decided to react to my first post of it.
Even though I was warned by other artists who paint nude figures regularly I can’t help but be disappointed in instagram’s immediate penalization of my content. Luckily my post wasn’t removed but they flagged it and removed several posts on my story in addition to making me ineligible for monetization for several weeks. And since posting this painting several more times each time was met with another slap on the wrist. All of this for a piece of artwork that showcases the dynamic beautify of the human form. Unfortunately I have shied away from making paintings like this for years in fear of these exact consequences. Even though I have loved illustrating the nude figure ever since my first figure drawing classes in college, I have held back in my professional work because I knew that social media can be strict with their community guidlines. I find it most frustrating that meta chose to flag my post for “sexual content” when (I want to be loud and clear about this) there is nothing inherently sexual about the human form, nude or otherwise. Sexualization is something imposed on the nude body by an external viewer who cannot appreciate its innate beauty and strength so they result to objectification. The painting I posted came from the depths of my soul, it was raw, emotional, and sensitive but in no way sexually driven in any way. I you read the description you will know it is about the transition of a soul from one form to another. And I hate to play the blame game but I have seen some unspeakably offensive posts on this platform relating to sex, violence, racism and sexism that were not only allowed to stay up but were actually amplified by the algorithm to be seen by more and more people.
If I’m being honest this is an issue that is much broader than instagram. Our culture has developed to a point that we are so afraid of the human form that it is specifically hidden from sight and ONLY to be seen in a sexual context. So it’s no wonder that this is how our minds work. Just for some personal context, when I took live model drawing classes in college, me and all of the students learned very quickly that not only does nudity not equate to sex but it also showcases the striking uniqueness and universality of all our bodies. When you as a student sit at your drawing horse for hours upon hours thoughtfully observing and replicating the incredible curves, angles and textures of the human form you gain a deep appreciation for the human body as a work of art and not something to be sexualized in every context. When our instructor found people to model for our classes he made sure to find a variety of people of all shapes, sizes and ages and through this exposure we all learned to find beauty in all of these forms.
Sorry if I am rambling but this feedback from instagram got my mind thinking about these ideas and I wanted to vocalize them. Art is so important to me and I feel like it can benefit so many people if we are ready to engage in it. And I specifically think that artwork involving nudity can have a powerful role in reshaping our societies skewed views of sexuality, hopefully creating a renewed appreciate and respect for the bodies we all inhabit.
I’m sure that meta will most definitely NOT fix their system but I just wanted to vent my thoughts to you all and remind you that we all move about this world in a precious vessel. This body that we inhabit deserves to be respected and appreciated as a work of art.
The Wait is Over! Two Brand New Terra Human Paintings!
Hello, I hope you are doing well! I'm really excited to share two brand new Terra Human Paintings with you today! As some of you may know I was not able to finish these paintings in time for the Contemporary Figuration show at Abend Gallery due to a muscle spasm in my neck. So after many many hours of painting I finally finished these two pieces and am so excited to share them with you. For clarity these paintings are available DIRECTLY from me since they were never exhibited at the gallery.
If you have the time please read my descriptions for the paintings as well, I dedicate a lot of time and energy into writing thoughtful descriptions for every painting I make and these are certainly no exception. I really hope that these paintings encourage introspection and a renewed sense of empathy. Please reach out to me if you want to know more about these paintings (ie. additional photos or videos). They can be purchased directly from my website by using the buttons below the photos. Payment plans are available upon request so don't hesitate to contact me if that is something you are interested in.
"Same Breath" | 12"x12" Framed | *SOLD*
Painting Description
After wandering the harsh and unforgiving mountains for longer than he could remember he realized that he had forgotten what he was searching for. He was desperately in need of something but could never find it and couldn’t even name it. Not knowing what to do or where to go he stoped in his tracks, kneeled down and reached down into the earth that he had been traversing on top of for all of his life. Feeling something soft among the dirt and roots he used all of this strength to pull a human form from the earth that housed it for so long. He held her in this exact spot for years looking at her in awe and feeling at peace, as if he finally understood something better than he understood himself. And the longer he held her the more he wished to see the world as she might see it.
Slowly every breath he exhaled moved a part of his soul into her. Until he no longer had the strength to hold her but as he took his last breath she took her first and she was able to hold him as his warmth departed. Saying goodbye she slowly lowered him to rest in the mountains as the tress and plants lovingly embraced his presence. In a new form but with the same breath she was now free to walk this earth truly at peace, no longer searching.
"Harvest Moon" | 12"x16" Framed | $2500
Painting Description
In times of true despair we are the most open to changing our ways. When our hearts are finally empty and our minds exhausted we finally look outside of ourselves to do the one thing we swore we would never do, ask for help. Less than halfway up the mountain we collapse, we lay down our pride and stop ignoring the pain that has plagued us for so much of the journey. With tears falling from our eyes we give in to all that has overwhelmed us, finally acknowledging the hurt and letting it envelope us.
After some time of gazing at the moon for comfort we finally look around to see many others who are illuminated by the moonlight as well, all making the same journey up the mountain. But they all look down as they trudge their way up with the same pains and despair weighing them down. All but one who notices us sitting in the cold dirt and offers an open hand but when we are too exhausted to take it so they decide to sit down with us, staring at the moon and enjoying the comfort of another.
"As One" has been SOLD!
I am so honored to say that my painting “As One” has been sold! This piece has been so special to me for several years now and I’m ecstatic that it found a new home.
For me, this painting served as a giant leap forward in my skill level and confidence as an artist when I made it back in 2019. While creating this piece I had to silence so many doubts and trust myself and the final result allowed me to keep pushing with even bigger and better paintings.
And while I have you here, I want to encourage you to use the button below to see what paintings and prints are available in my online shop! Artwork can make for such meaningful holiday gifts!
"Wishing for Eternity" My Newest Terra Human Painting!
Hello my friends! I’m really excited to finally share with you my newest Terra Human painting titled “Wishing for Eternity”
Read moreInternational ARC Salon Semi-Finalist!
I am absolutely honored to announce that my painting "Light After Dark" is a semi-finalist in the 16th International ARC Salon! With over 5400 submissions from 75 countries, humbled doesn't even begin to describe my mental state. I've wanted to apply to this competition for years now but always missed the deadline. So I honestly cant believe that one of my pieces got selected.
The finalists will be announced on November 1st! As always thank you for your continued support over social media! It is greatly appreciated.
“Light After Dark” is currently available for purchase from my solo show with Abend Gallery. Use the button below to view it in their shop!
Newest Painting "Our Gentle Hands" has been SOLD!
I'm really excited to say that my painting "Our Gentle Hands" has been sold! I really appreciate all of your kind words and insights about this painting, I worked extremely hard on it so it makes me really happy to see it go to a new home! And thank you to everyone who expressed interest in this painting, I don't think Ive ever had so many inquires!
I will have a full process video for this painting soon plus I’m planning on doing a print release as well so stay tuned!
Complete Process video for "Through the Leaves"
I hope you enjoy this process video for my painting “Through the Leaves” this piece not only required a lot of technical skill but also a lot of thought and reflection. This original painting is currently available from Abend Gallery in Denver if you are interested! You can click the button below to view this piece on the gallery website.
Complete Process Video for "Interconnection"
I hope you enjoy this process video for my painting “Interconnection” this piece took many hours of planning and prep as well as many more hours of concentrated work. This piece is currently available from Abend Gallery in Denver if you are interested! You can click the button below to view this piece on the gallery website.
Three Paintings Sold to a New Collector!
Hi everyone! I'm really happy to say "Surrender" "Impending Storm" and "Ghost Ranch" have all sold to a new collector! I always feel so fortunate when someone new finds my work and decides that they just have to have some of it in their home.
I want to give a special shoutout to the Los Alamos community for engaging in my work on facebook and welcoming me as a new small business. Their kind and welcoming words really help me feel like my art is connecting with people. I feel very luck to be a part of such a well-connected and engaging community!
Brand New Terra Human Painting | "Interconnection"
My final brand new painting for the "Contemporary Figuration" show at Abend Gallery is here! Say hello to "Interconnection" This lovely original painting is available on Abend's website. Click the button below to view this piece on the Abend webstite.
Here is the painting description: The world contained within this painting shows us blending seamlessly with the environments that we love. Every memory, emotion and thought that is contained within us is interwoven with those of the earth to create a single beauty. The immense highs and lows in our lives directly mimic the mountains and valleys in a way that shows the earth understands us to the core. The mountains listen to our thoughts and feelings while the stars comprehend our dreams and aspirations. The trees plants and animals grow and live for decades only to lose their lives and begin again in another form.
As a viewer we are allowed only a momentary glance at this world through a window so that we may contemplate our existence and what we wish to do with our time.
New Throwback Posts!
It's been a while since I've done a throwback post so I hope you enjoy this fun comparison of one of the first faces I painted as a professional artist to my most recent painting of a face!
Believe it or not I used to be terrified of painting people and faces in particular so I often stylized figures or just left their faces blank. The idea of a human face is so engrained into our brains that we can almost always tell if it is illustrated incorrectly by an artist. We can't always vocalize it but we can tell if there is something slightly off in the proportions. So this fear of failure prevented me from even attempting to paint people's faces for a while even though I loved looking at portrait paintings. More and more I was drawn to figurative art but was afraid of painting faces and failing at what I loved to do.
The painting on the right "Terra Firma" was one of my first real attempts at painting a figure while also including the face. I worked on this piece with caution and excitement because I was so entranced with the concept and vision I had in my head. I actually started this piece with the intention of NOT painting her face as to avoid the intimidation factor. But the more I painted the more I felt confident in my abilities and was willing to take the risk of illustrating the face in full.
The painting on this right is my most recent painting of a face. "The Giver" features a seamless double exposure portrait of a woman blended with the leaves, branches and sunlight that surround her. Even now when I am much more confident in my painting abilities I approach every piece with humility because every painting can be a new and unpredictable experience. I just feel thankful that my painting abilities are starting to catch up with the visions I piece together in my head. I truly love painting people because we instinctively connect with the person we see on the canvas and can use it as a way to reflect on ourselves.
I want to share this throwback image to show that inspiring ideas don't just materialize out of nowhere, they build over your years of hard work, risk-taking and sensitivity to your surroundings. In 2015 as part of my senior thesis as an art major I painted my biggest and boldest painting to date. I had grown into a relatively confident landscape painter but decided to jump into the unknown by incorporating these haunting figures traversing the landscape. This decision would completely shift the narrative of the piece and give me the confidence to create unique and risky paintings for years to come. I often think back to this piece and the distinct moment when I had finished the landscape portion and finally worked up the courage to start painting the figures. It actually felt like jumping off a cliff into the unknown, both terrifying and exhilarating.
So when people ask me how I come up with ideas for my paintings I try to express that I have been accumulating interesting concepts, images and emotions for years in my head without really realizing it. This allows my art to build on itself in a natural progression so that I don't feel lost in a sea of ideas. When you look at these two paintings side-by-side you can clearly see an improvement in technique while also seeing a distinct starting point for the concept. With each new painting I try to take a small but uncomfortable risk so that I always feel like I'm moving forward and trying something new.
I hope you enjoy this fun comparison between a painting from 2017 vs a painting in 2020.
As I've evolved into a figurative painter over the past few years its been hard to unsee a large disparity in this genre of art. Notably that the majority of figurative art focuses on women rather than men. And even more stunning is that the majority of paintings of women are painted by men. Now this branches into a much larger topic that I've discussed in my blog but I just want to sum it up in saying that as a figurative painter I want to do my best to represent all people. Since I started tentatively painting people several years ago I've made a conscious effort to specifically paint men. I do this even while knowing that these paintings on average don't sell as often as paintings of women. I do this because I hope to shift the norm in this regard and show not only that paintings of men are valuable and interesting but that they don't also have to be hyper masculine or show a "typical" version of strength. Artwork in general has an opportunity to show that men are multifaceted and complex creatures that are allowed to listen to their emotions.
I hope you see what I'm trying to accomplish in a lot of my artwork. In the years to come I am planning on pushing myself to paint more people of color as well as more people in the LGBTQ+ family.
3 New Terra Human Paintings for the Holiday Miniatures Show!
I’m really excited to share 3 brand new Terra Human paintings for the 30th Annual Holiday Miniatures Show at Abend Gallery!
These pieces along with many other incredible paintings are now officially available during the virtual opening at AbendGallery.com click the button below to view this amazing show! Scroll down to view all three of my paintings!
“A Moment of Acceptance”
7”x11'“
Oil on Artefex Panel (Framed)
Available for $775 from Abend Gallery
This piece serves as a reminder of the importance of our self image. How we think of and speak to ourselves greatly influences our mental health and mental well-being and unfortunately we can be our own biggest critics. But if we can choose to give ourselves the grace and patience that we give others we will find ourselves in a healthier mental state. Like many of us, the person in this painting sometimes asks too much of herself and can’t help but speak words of negativity in order to push herself. But these words can do more harm that we know, degrading our self worth and leaving us unbalanced. The moment in this painting is a moment of realization. A moment in which we see ourselves for all of our strengths and weaknesses and decide to give ourselves the grace that we need to stay healthy and balanced.
“Creator and Creation”
7”x11'“
Oil on Artefex Panel (Framed)
Available for $775 from Abend Gallery
This piece illustrates the innate connection we all have with the natural world that created us. The incredible nature that surrounds us serves many purposes and one of which is the way in which it encourages us to look inward and recalibrate our identity. Often times our fast paced lifestyle causes us to lose sight of who we are and replaces our empathy with malice and judgment that distances us from others and ourselves. Our primal brains are still catching up with the ever changing lives that we live, which are filled with social media, technology and an overwhelming amount of complicated people.
But when we are able to step out of the day to day chaos and immerse ourselves in the nature that created us we connect with our surroundings and tap into our primal nature. This innate connection we have with nature can help us reestablish what we value in our lives and it can help us grow as individuals to then better serve others.
“The Giver”
7”x11'“
Oil on Artefex Panel (Framed)
Available for $775 from Abend Gallery
This piece is an ode to those who strive to do good in this world. The people who despite the darkness surrounding them emit a light of empathy, kindness and understanding that inspires others. These people are the helpers, listeners, watchers and hard workers who always seek to help the world even in the most microscopic of moments or gestures and never ask for anything in return. The heart of a giver is one that should be cherished.
"EVE" Limited Edition Prints are Available!!!
"EVE" limited edition prints are officially available! You can view and purchase your very own print by clicking the button below!
There will be ONLY 50 limited edition prints created and each is the actual size of the original painting (18"x24"). I worked closely with LKMNDD who took detailed photos of every section of the painting and then photo-stitched the images together to create a highly detailed print that is true to the original. Each print will be come with a signed certificate of authenticity that displays your print number.
To celebrate the week of release, every print ordered between now and Friday at midnight will be 15% off!
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I'm incredibly excited to be releasing these prints to you! I worked on this painting for over 100 hours and have worked really hard with LKMNDD to create these amazing prints for you! I have no doubt that these prints will make for excellent holiday gifts to loved ones as well as a meaningful gift to yourself.
Throwback Thursday Posts
Hi Everyone!
Here are some of my throwback Thursday posts that I like to put on Facebook and Instagram. They are great opportunities to look and back on my old work and reflect on how far I have come in the last few years. I hope you enjoy!
In this throwback post I thought it would interesting to look at two different styles I implemented in with a single reference. Before creating the realistic version of this painting I decided to make an energetic and expressive study to get a rough impression of the subject and experiment with color. Once I got into it I really enjoyed jumping around the piece with spontaneous brushwork that seemed to add some nice movement to the figure and the light source. Now I don’t always create these impressionistic studies but in this instance it serves as an interesting comparison to the more realistic “final” painting. In the realistic version I worked in sections with a variety of brushes to both apply and blend the paint. I focused on blending and color accuracy to make the piece realistic and nuanced.
I feel like both of these painting styles have a place in my creative practice and in the artistic world as a whole. Being spontaneous and heavy handed can serve as an amazing break from my usual detail oriented process. And I greatly admire fellow artists who can blend both realistic and expressive techniques into a single dynamic painting. Overall I really love how there is so much to explore in the realm of painting and I feel like I have barely scratched the surface!
For this post I thought I would show a triple comparison showing my progression from High School to College and finally professional art! And I want to take this opportunity to talk about the most important thing that I learned in this 15 year process.
Throughout my education I was especially lucky to have much more exposure to art than most and it really worked well for me. But like most children who are artistically inclined I was only rewarded for my "inherent artistic talent." Me and other creative students were told over and over again that we were talented and this choice of words told us that our artistic ability was fixed and couldn't be changed. Now I don't blame anyone for this because as a culture this is how we see artists because we don't understand them. So my time creating art in high school was great overall but I still was not able to shed this preconception that I was "talented" and therefor not able to improve.
My art experience in college was a transition time, I started to make a connection between practice and improvement in my art. My professors were the first people to tell me that art is a skill that can be developed over time. All of the sudden art felt less mysterious to me, I always knew that I was a hard worker and now I was starting to find a place to dedicate my effort.
It's safe to say that my professional career as a painter would not have happened if I wasn't shown that art is a skill not an innate talent. So much of how I work now is based on practice and slow improvement, trying to make every painting better than the last using my own personal growth to measure success. And I look forward to learning and improving as much as I can for the rest of my life 🤗
Thanks for listening
New Figure Painting!
I've been meaning to share this figure painting that I made a few weeks ago so here it is! This piece served as a study for an upcoming Terra Human painting that I'm working on right now!
Feel free to contact me if you are interested in this lovely piece, I worked very hard on the lighting and intricate color relationships
This piece is currently available for purchase! Contact me or check my online shop for purchase!
New Show Announcement!
Hello everyone, I'm really excited to announce that my two paintings "Walking Giants and "Between Light and Shadow" will be in the Influences Art Show put on by the Loveland Artists Collective!
This show will be open the whole month of September with an in-person opening reception on September 11th. 😷
If you are in the area come check out my paintings as well as the other awesome artwork in this show!
New Process Video! | How I Paint Hands
Here is the full process video for my painting "When Our Work is Done" I created this painting as a gift to my in-laws to celebrate and remember the life of Levi Martinez. I hope you enjoy seeing how I created this piece and I hope the audio commentary gives you some insights into my process!
"Flowers and Thorns" Has Been Sold!
I am both humbled and excited to say that my painting "Flowers and Thorns" has been sold!
This piece is incredibly special to me so I really happy to see it going to a forever home of a new collector! I had the pleasure to speaking to this buyer on the phone and I have to say that it's really reassuring to know that this piece will be going to a loving home that really appreciates its beauty. The buyer said that she simply could not get the image out of her head for sever days and needed to buy the original piece!
As always, I'm greatly appreciative of this sale and so happy that something I created will be hanging in someones else's home!
A Very Special Painting
About a month ago my father-in-law lost his dad and my wife had the idea to paint this beautiful photo of their hands during his final hours. Losing a loved one is incredibly hard, but I think it’s especially difficult to lose a parent. I asked my father-in-law about the significance of his and his father’s hands and this is what he said.
“Our hands represent our ability to work, to create, to hug, to wave, to congratulate. They hint at how hard our life was and how fragile we really are. My dad’s hands are a window into how he lived his life. He was a tireless hard worker and used his hands to build and create many a building, out of bricks, blocks, glass, and wood. The scars and callouses on his hands also give a glimpse that he did not live in fear and was tough enough to do anything he put his mind to. In his final hours, his hands were still strong and yet soft. I will miss dad and his hands.”
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant…”
I chose to name this piece "When Our Work is Done" because Levi was a worker and a problem solver all of his life and now he finally gets to rest.
Levi will be greatly missed and never forgotten.