Elba Raquel

What I've done these past months.....

2010-10-14T21:48:00.001-07:00

Everyone asks me.... what have you done since the yoga paintings? Well.... There was that Metallica painting in December. There was that jewelry box back in January for the auction. Then in February I did a painting for a fund raising event, which I haven't photographed (but maybe this weekend). Then I got to work on actually planning my wedding. Here's what you have to understand.... 2 artists can't get married without turning their wedding into a huge art project!

So we did everything! I designed my dress from scratch.... drew it, picked out fabric, and art directed the seamstress it from beginning to end (lets face it, I had no time or skill enough to sew). I had never designed a dress into reality before.

I made my own earrings and bracelet to match a necklace I had bought. It was my first time doing both too.

We made earrings for all the female guests.... hence how I got hooked on making feather earrings this past month!

We made CDs for all the men to take home.

We made our own wishing well.

We hand painted little pots for every guest to take home.

We made our own centerpieces.

We made our own ceremonial blanket from scratch.

So if you think I haven't been busy making art.... shame on you! We did this all in 4 months and then some!

My recent ventures

2010-10-06T21:23:00.000-07:00

Here is something for you all, especially for Pete and Simon who keep reminding me to update my blog. These are my new ventures and the story of how they came to be will be told later.
Ps.... I am now on Etsy.com under FeathArt. So go and shop.
Its a bit confusing, so first you go to BUY tab.
Then you go to Seller search... its automatically on Handmade so you'll have to scroll down to Seller.
Then enter FeathArt.
Select it and you'll be entering my shop.

I'll post 52 more later this week at the shop. I like that... at the shop.

Lars and Fan Birthday Present

2010-01-29T15:42:00.001-08:00

This commission resulted from the yoga paintings from one of the yoga students. She wanted to surprise her boyfriend for his birthday with a painting of him and one of his favorite band members... Lars, the drummer from Metallica. It was a great excuse to dust off my Metallica CDs and rock out while I painted. Here is the finished piece, some close ups and the beginning stages. I would have done more of the closer to finished stages but I could not find my camera to save my life!

La Cultura Cura "Culture Cures" Fundraising Jewelry Box

2010-01-25T12:57:00.000-08:00

Title: Joyeria Ancestrial "Ancestrial Jewelry Box"
Caption: Mis joyas... Nuestras Historias "My Jewelry...Our Stories"

This piece is a symbolism for the jewelry that is passed down from generation to generation... daughter to daughter.

It combines my love for Mexican Arte Popular, Dia de los Muertos and jewelry. I created this piece specifically for La Cultura Cura's 1st Annual Fundraiser dinner and silent art auction in San Jose. The theme was "La Cultura." The fundraiser is to raise funds for the group Calpulli Tonalehqueh to hold and host the Aztec New Year's event at the National Hispanic University this upcoming March of 2010. Here is a link of last year's event. I have been fortunate enough to attend the last 2 years. In an effort to support my people I donated this new piece and am glad to inform you all that it SOLD!!!!!!! I am very happy that I was able to help out through my art. I enjoyed doing this so much I am going to do more boxes and sell them on Etsy. I will keep you guys posted. In the meantime.... I hope you guys like this one!

The Exhibit

2009-12-02T13:46:00.000-08:00

Ross

2009-11-25T21:37:00.000-08:00

Marc

2009-11-24T21:36:00.000-08:00

Leota

2009-11-23T21:49:00.000-08:00

Liz

2009-11-22T21:34:00.000-08:00

Lala

2009-11-21T21:34:00.000-08:00

Jena

2009-11-20T21:33:00.000-08:00

Darius

2009-11-19T21:31:00.000-08:00

Ana

2009-11-18T21:30:00.000-08:00

Amber

2009-11-17T21:28:00.000-08:00

Funky Door Process

2009-11-15T23:45:00.000-08:00

Step 1: Interview process.... everyone gets an interview and a photo taken.

Step 2: Sketches and thumbnails. This is the daydreaming stage. It can be done at work, during yoga, on the train, driving, sleeping. The creative part.

Step 3: All boards get a watercolor layer of color. Very transparent to show off that groovy wood texture.
Step 4: Start the oil portrait part for at least some paintings. I worked 9 paintings all at once so I had to do them in groups and rotations. Great for getting a perspective on them... a little time away from a painting, even a few hours on another one, can really help get problems figured out. Here are some in various stages.
To get a better sense of that stage....
Step 5: The story! This is the part where I decided to use gouache instead of acrylic. Gulp... But in the end I liked it better. Mistakes are easier to work with and it had a better and faster application. The interview process in action.
Step 6: The varnish. The portrait was oil so I couldn't use the same varnish I used on the gouache. Tape 'em up. Take 'em up on the roof and spray. The sun was on my side that day.

Step 7: Frames frames frames. It takes longer than you think. Especially when you've never frames wood before! Thank goodness to my OSH days when I was obsessed with buying tools. They really came in handy.

Step 8: Hang them and enjoy with new and old friends at Funky Door!

Stay tuned.....

2009-11-13T10:35:00.000-08:00

Ok guys! This especially goes out to Simon for being on top of me about posting my new work. I have been taking process photos as I work and have been really busy working on 9 new pieces. I started the paintings October 1st and finished Nov. 10th. I've been busy busy busy! I WILL post the new paintings on my website and the process on this blog on November 17th.

Save the date for Nov 17th for those of you who are anxious.

You can see these paintings early and in person if you like as they are going to be exhibited at Funky Door Yoga at Polk and Pine in San Francisco. They will be up Nov. 15 to Dec. 15. While you're there.... do some yoga!

Finished and framed

2009-09-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

Ta Da!
This is simply an iPhone pictured sent by a friend, since I didn't have a camera handy. IAs soon as I get a better picture, I will post it up. PS- The newly weds loved it!

Still Going...

2009-09-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

OK, so this project has turned into something grander! I finished the painting by adding some last minute compositional enhancements, otherwise known as waves.

As some of you might already know, I am engaged now to a very talented and super creative, wonderfully rounded artist, Roberto Romo Lopez. YAY! Our journey has been a grand one and our union always manifests itself in our art projects. I wanted to make a frame to finish off my sister's gift. He heard my idea and said what he always says with a gleam in his eyes, "I'll help you. It'll come out NICE!"

I envisioned a funky Mexican metal frame very similar to papel picado. Alone I would have made a GOOD frame. But with his help, together we are making a GREAT frame. Here is our process.....

Slowly but Surely

2009-08-27T15:44:00.001-07:00

I've been slowly working on this piece for my sister and its finally coming together. Some last minute touches and a quick rethinking of some compositional elements and I'm finally done. I'll post the finished version as soon as I finish.

NEW PROJECT

2009-06-03T16:51:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting back into the illustration game! No more excuses. My priorities are back in check and here is a sketch for my next illustration.

Sunday Workshop Friends- 5 min sketches

2009-04-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

We got together and drew each other! It was a blast... Omari, you were right. It was fun. I was wrong. You are King... blah blah blah. Grrrr... Here they are and I hope you all that went post yours up. I'm curious to see everyone's stuff.

New Faces in Color Pencil

2009-04-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

I took the pencils to a workshop and did some sketches and had so much fun I went home and drew this random model from a magazine... with a lot of very major changes to a lot of her. I guess I'm feeling a little bit more feminine lately. Its coming out in my drawings.

Some Friends in Crayon

2009-04-10T20:56:00.000-07:00

Some of these guys you might recognize. A cookie if you know who they are...

Back to Crayola

2009-04-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

I found some old Crayola sketches from quick study workshops in February and early March and I decided to go back to the basics. The thing about Crayons is that it loosens me up. The tip gets blunt quickly so I focus on gesture to make my drawing read. I can also get soft and hard lines, tone and massing quite quickly without worrying about being too neat. I took my Crayons to a workshop last Sunday and I re-realized all this all over again. So much fun.

Civic Center

2009-04-05T18:04:00.000-07:00

It was so nice today, and after a LOOOOOONG work week I threw my watercolors and gouache in my bag and went to draw in the park. Oh the fun I had. Oh the beautiful day. Oh the watercolors! I wasn't giong to use line so I approached the painting by massing in the shadows but the sun moved (obviously) and I opted to skip the painting and turn it into a line drawing. Not a bad combination. Oh the watercolor!

Last week's workshops sans Crayons

2009-04-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

So I diched the Crayola for a week and went back to pen and some pastels. These are some Bill Sanchez workshop drawings and the ones with the incredible fashion are from the Metamorphica Workshop.

More Crayola

2009-03-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

This is a page from last Friday the 13th. I stopped by Bill's workshop, which I rarely get to do, and got bored of drawing the model wrapped in a blanket over and over and over and over and over again so I decided to draw this Colombian fellow that I see at all the workshops and talk to from time to time. He had the most interesting stripped shirt and the sternest look on his face as he drew.

Crayola Crayons

2009-03-04T22:13:00.000-08:00

I haven't been able to paint due to my heavy work load and my sister's wedding coming up. I've been forced to put a painting on the back burner for now, but I try to at least get a few drawing hours a week to relax myself from the face painting, the desk job and the Academy job. The Sunday workshops are definately a great way to end a weekend.

I've been playing around with different materials lately, like pastels, and techniques to keep my interest. Seems to be a theme for me in everything I do lately. Anyhow, I was talking to a friend about Crayola Crayons the other day and remembered how much I hated using them last project I did with them and how I had a 120 set I had not opened in a year. I swore I'd never use them again, which seemed like the perfect reason to pull them out Sunday and play. All of these were done this week with a selected 24 box I've had with me since Sunday. The nudes are from the Sunday workshop and the clothed are from a fashion workshop. Every time I go to that workshop they have the same model... so I drew the students. The last one's my favorite, because FOR A FASHION STUDENT... SHOULDN'T YOU KNOW THAT SHOWING CRACK IS A BIG FASHION "NO! NO!"

Workshops and Stuff

2009-02-27T12:54:00.001-08:00

I've met this new group of very motivated artists and have been drawing with them at workshops. Here are some of the drawings I've done with them. The top ones are from Dr. Sketchy's at Minna last Tuesday. We had front row where this man knocked over my pastels, stepped on a few and dumped the crumbs back in my palette. But it was all OK because we also had the best seats in the house for the model's little dance number! The last ones are from Sunday Workshops at Mark's place.

Tag Team

2009-02-01T23:26:00.000-08:00

I illustrated and colored the skull. Benjamin Rocha, graphic design major, designed the rest. For a project last year he asked me to help him so I did. The concept is in the previous post, and this is the final label. I wish we had photos of them on the actual beer, but this still looks great! His finished bottles were chosen to be displayed at 79 New Montgomery last winter!

New Website

2009-01-23T11:28:00.001-08:00

Hey guys! I got myself a real website! Check it out.

Corona Kills

2008-11-16T23:23:00.000-08:00

I'm working on a collaborative project with a Graphic Designer, which is a fancy way of saying I'm working with my roommate on his assignment for Package and Design 3. He has to redesign a beer bottle and add a theme to it. He asked me to help him illustrate a Day of the Dead theme for his Corona bottles. These are the finished inked versions, so I'll be posting the colored versions as I finish. He needed 2 designs....regular (darker) beer and lighter beer. So I came up with the idea of the light (sun) and dark (moon) opposites. We have Tonatiuh, the Aztec Sun God, which you've all seen at the center of the Aztec calendar. Then there's Coyolxuahqui, the Moon Goddess. He wanted one more but didn't know what so I suggested the Goddess of the corn and wheat and basically harvest, since beer is made of wheat. That would be Tlazolteotl. After he realized he wanted the actual God of Death so I drew up Mictlantecuhtli. It's been fun and I can't wait to get color on them.

Feels good to play, even if its with La Llorona

2008-10-02T23:33:00.001-07:00

So, I've been doing these Weekly Challenges with some friends, but I haven't taken out my paints since I was in Mexico. I took them out today and I lost track of time. I know now that nothing beats this!
Cuando yo era pequena, bueno mas pequena que hoy si es que se lo pueden imaginar, mi Tia Gabi nos contaba de la Llorona. Yo le tenia un temor, mas que al mismo Diablo. Ella decia que tenia unas unas largas, largas, largas y si no te fijabas al voltiar un esquina obscura, ella estara ayi esperandote. Y en un instante te sacara tus ojos, porque claro su platillo favorito son los ojos de los ninos.

When I was small, well smaller than today if you can imagine that, my Aunt Gabi would tell us of the Llorona. I was so scared of her, more than the Devil himself. She would tell us that she had long, long, long nails and if you didn't watch where you turned a dark corner, she would be there waiting for you. And in an instant she would pick your eyes out, because clearly her favorite dish were children's eyes.

Baby's tree

2008-08-28T23:33:00.000-07:00

My first wall mural. My brother's friend is having a baby but did not want the conventional baby room. So she hired me for this modern twist on baby's room. I brought in my skilled artist boyfriend to help speed up the process and made it a collaborative project. It was smooth painting. I designed it a day before and called him in to follow me with a paintbrush. He massed while I detailed and he second coated while I corrected edges and smudges. A perfect team. I wouldn't have it any other way. In less than 5 hours we had already cleaned and finished. There is nothing better than having a partner who is skilled with the brush, for he is an instant help when you need him.

I really enjoyed this project and the experience I got with drawing and gridding and painting on a larger scale with another artist. I think it looks satisfying, simple yet complex. So much fun I had. Fun I had. Had I am.

My sister's wedding

2008-08-01T16:56:00.000-07:00

My sister is getting married! She's not only the first but the youngest of us 4. She asked me to do this for her reception and I can't believe I'm done. 1 week before the wedding so now I'm off to buy a frame. (ps- no more traditional stuff for a while....I need to start having more fun on these projects)

Just wanted to share this with you guys. I haven't been completely inactive, just doing other things, such as wedding stuff and trying to launch my own company. I'm working on the marketing and nitty gritty right now but I'm trying to get into kid's face painting.

Wish me luck and lets see how this new adventure goes.

Back from Mexico!

2008-07-07T17:03:00.001-07:00

I have been gone for as month and I've been everywhere! Puerto Vallarta, Sayulita, Guadalajara, Guanajuato, Mexico City, Morelia, Patzcuaro and Jalostotitlan. My family is from Guadalajara and I went to go visit, since its been 4 years since I've been there. I tried to paint and draw while I was there but I must was traveling for the most part light. I got to paint and draw in Vallarta with my sister, but that's because all she likes to do is relax and that gave me PLENTY of time to at least draw something and paint with watercolors and salt water. Yeah I wonder if the salt will have any long term effects on my mini sketches?
I found this lady and her granddaughter in Vallarta particularly funny with her umbrella hat and all, but she moved quite fast so I didn't get enough time to capture detail.
In Guadalajara I got a few minutes in front of a fountain but unfortunately I drew with my thinnest pen....AAAARRRGHHH....and it didn't scan at its best. But I still really like the water in this drawing.
This was at my aunt's roof of her 3 story apartment. So, my beautiful Grandmother (also Elba) left the 1st floor to 1 aunt, the 2nd floor to my mom, and the 3rd floor to another aunt. All sisters. I can't wait for my mom to finally take her place in the 2nd floor Enrique Rodo.

I had a wonderful time and wish I could wake up everyday to feel the warm rays of the sun on my face in the most beautiful, colorful, and liveliest place I know of. Mexico.

Dichos y Refranes

2008-05-03T00:00:00.001-07:00

Ok, so this is the beginning of a big project. I'll have to get better pictures of these, but for now this is all I have. They are now in the hands of the Illustration department ready to be judged for spring show.

So what's the story? Like in every culture, Mexico is full of wonderful sayings. My mom always uses them. Her and Roberto compete to see who knows more. One day I realized, that although I am Mexican I was not born in the sacred land of my people. And I vowed, like all Pochos do, to be more Mexican than my fellow Pochos. (For those that don't know the term: Pochos= Children born in the USA from Mexican parents). I figured a good place to start was by really learning the sayings (dichos). I couldn't reverse my birthplace but I can speak like I was born in Guadalajara. Between my mother and Roberto they gave me a list of almost 200 dichos! I'm working on illustrating a book and these are the first I have done. The characters at the corners are the characters of my book and are none other than the 2 people that provided me with all those dichos. Thanks to them I am becoming less Pocha.

Boca cerrada no entran moscas= Literal translation: Mouth closed, flies don't get in. Basically, it means to shut your mouth and not to gossip or tell secrets. Or just plain, shut up.
Cuentas claras amistades largas= Translations: Clear dealings makes long friendships. In other words, if you record and sign all your monetary transactions with friends and family, your friendships will surpass time and money. Very important! Trust me!

Guess who

2008-05-02T16:25:00.001-07:00

Here's something that I'm working on right now. Its just a sketch, but you guys might know who this is. If you guess, I'll give you a cookie.

OK, so nobody guessed. We're a week into May and a week past this original posting. Here is the final version and maybe this will help you guess who this is. Any kind of cookie you want. Mmmmm....

Burning One Roomate at a Time

2008-04-28T00:44:00.000-07:00

My make-up class continues. Burn victim. Supposedly, I burned 2 of his fingers to the bone and the rest are blistered from the heat. But if you know me the you know I always want to go the extra extra extra mile to make it work. In the words of Andre "Designers, make it work." I kept trying to really light the chicken bones I had glued to his fingers on fire, but they wouldn't catch! We finally taped a match to the back of it and put his hand to the stove and I took the picture just as the gas lit the match. Its a rare thing to catch those tiny moments. The other picture is with the flame and the colors were mesmerizing. So this is me burning one roommate at a time.

Selfless Gene

2008-04-19T21:37:00.001-07:00

An editorial about altruism in the genes.

Thank you Marco and friend for your help on this one. I really couldn't have done it without you guys. You 2 rock! ...Marco, do you see what I just did? Go back to that sentence. Translation, U2 rocks! Yes they do. Rock on, little brother.

Leather Canvas

2008-04-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

So I'm taking this one class, as sort of a relaxer, since I'm taking 3 illustration classes. I've been having such a good time doing the homework here that I thought I'd post the transformations. Its a special effects make-up class. When I was a kid, apart from the many other things I wanted to be when I grew up (doctor, model, detective, zoologist, mud wrestler, etc..) I also wanted to do movie make-up. It all started when I saw Mrs.Doubtfire and all I dreamt about was making prosthetics and painting people's faces. Now I paint canvases, which I've had as a steady dream since I was 4, but its always fun to get a new surface to paint on.
So here they are....my models. I tried to put them in order by the 1st to last I did. (In order to protect their privacy, I won't use the model's names....but if you know me then you probably know these people by association, so tough luck)

Introducing, my roomate...clean cut guy transformed into drug addict.
Followed by my mother... average happy woman first gone sexy momma then aged to about 200

And my sister...modern social to 70's chick.

My boyfriend is my next victim... good looking and young suddenly frozen dead and old geezer.

Then a good friend... from simply fun to Russian doll fun.

And the other sister... from beautiful lush curls to nothing.

Last but not least... myself from plain to wounded and zany.

Life of Pi Work in Progress

2008-04-11T00:03:00.001-07:00

This is a work in progress I'm doing for book illustration. Its a cover for Life of Pi. If anyone's read the book, hopefully they understand what it is. If you haven't, then you should! Its a good book, read it in a couple of days.

My scanner is not as big as my ink drawing and I was being too lazy to scan the bits that were cropped, so poor turtle and poor hair of his chinny chin chin. Boohoo. Sob sob. Stay tuned to see the big picture. If you don't get it now....don't worry, you will soon my lads.

Ok ok ok. Its almost done. So here is the colored version. I'm putting it down until Sunday. I'm at the point where I can't see past the paint and lines. Its just paint and lines to me at this point. Happens to me a lot when I'm working on a piece for a long time.

Ali Baba- Open Sesame!

2008-04-09T16:09:00.001-07:00

Another book illustration piece. I did 3 for Ali but didn't like them as much as this one. I needed a character for Ali and based on the story I wanted to depict him as an older, more experienced man. For casting I remembered 1 incident I had at my Junior College. I took a picture of all my family members to class and my art professor, Barbara Bouchard, said to a picture of my father:"that's Sadam Hussein." I couldn't convince her it was my dad so I decided to give my dad the role of Ali. We drove around San Jose looking for the perfect spot until the one spot we absolutely loved was on the side of the road and he kept yelling OPEN SESAME at the top of his lungs. Everyone just stared at him like he was insane.

You might recognize him from my family portraits. You might also recognize my sister Gabi in the lingerie piece.

The Toad King

2008-04-09T15:58:00.001-07:00

I usually don't post my thumbs because I always think my thumbnail process is so messy and uninteresting. But this piece for book illustration is interesting in that I worked and reworked this composition and in the end came up with something that I was really happy with. Here is the first idea sketch. Very boring.

Then I realized I should probably make it all about the King. So I changed up the comp. I got a model and played with the other elements. But its changed many times after this still.

"There was no doubt the toad was king. His guards, the lizards, watched over him as he dined on wine and French bread."

For No One

2008-04-09T15:47:00.001-07:00

Based on the song by The Beatles. The tile was my favorite part to do. Making all that watercolor bleed and splash.

What I took from the song: We are not all what we appear to be to others and in the long run when we are hurt we become inaccessible to those that hurt us. There comes a breaking point where we choose to surrender. Eventually, you weasel out of your cookie-cutter image and choose to live again. Listen to the song; you might not see what I saw.

Camino Seguro a la Inseguridad

2008-03-11T21:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this is one crazy story. I was invited to see a lingerie show because my sister, the hairdresser, was doing some of the girls' hair. Being the tight knit family we are, I went WITH MY MOM, to see the "hair."
The title of the piece says it all. I saw the girls, their hair and their everything else but what I took home with me was the physiological aspect of the experience. Camino Seguro a la Inseguridad.
Its about relationships and the psych that some women endure. Or do they willing put themselves through it?

Now meet my Family!

2008-03-09T17:42:00.000-07:00

Ok so the biggest part of where I came from is mi familia. I have a good size family and I always tell everyone that the best part of my childhood were my siblings. They can vouch for this. We grew up in a time where kids still played "pretend." We would become Robin Hood, Kings, Princesses, Mario and everyone in the Nintendo world. Lets see, If I remember correctly whoever was our guest, usually the boy across the street, who we met by throwing sweaters in our tree, now he was usually the main character. Mario, Robin Hood, The Prince. Gabi, the eldest, well she was always the princess. My brother, Marco, was always the bad guy. Bowser and whatnot, whatever pretend game we were playing. Now, I was a calmer child, spent more time drawing and reading so I took the lesser roles. I was sidekick to the hero. Luigi, or any supporting character. I mostly held ropes and followed the big guy making sure Princess didn't get hurt. I always secretly wanted to be Princess, especially when Robin Hood took her away on his white horse...actually is was a bike, but back then a kid's mind was impressionable. Then there was my kid sister. She was lower on the rung. Sorry, Mersay. She was the sidekick of the bad guy. So she just pretended to be a part of the game. Usually it would be me and her going at it, in a good way. I mean, the sidekicks were really no one but the extras.

My parents? Well they just made sure no one was tragically injured. Sort of like the creative directors or the producers....they let us do our thing, run around the yard and take off to the park.

So here they are. Half of them fell asleep during the pose. I drew from life but I guess that problem would have been solved with a photograph. Come to think of it, they all look pretty upset they had to sit there for an hour or 2.

Just to get this started

2008-03-08T22:49:00.000-08:00

I've been working non-stop on a few illustrations for about 3 weeks now and I think that I finally came to a point where I can relax. I figured since I have about an hour until midnight and my computer turns into a pumpkin I might as well get this blog started since I have had it since December. Everyone welcome to my world. I should start by introducing myself. Here are a few self-portraits so we can get that out of the way.