I am an artist (painter) living and working in the foothills of Puerto Rico's El Yunque National Rainforest. My studio sits atop a little mountain that affords me a view of the entire northeast coast of the island from San Juan to Fajardo and beyond. I choose to believe that the energy from my creations wafts upon the breeze to parts unknown, igniting the creative spirit wherever it goes.
One of the fun parts of my "job" as a professional artist is giving private exhibitions and demonstrations to groups. Today I get to go to the Wyndham Rio Mar Resort here in eastern Puerto Rico and do just this. Yay! A day of sitting on the beach and painting, talking to people from around the globe and sending them home with a piece of my work is just what MY doctor ordered!
Living as I do in a studio/home perched on the crest of a small mountain in eastern Puerto Rico, with the luxurious foliage of El Yunque's Caribbean National Forest surrounding me on 3 sides and a vista of the northeast coast of the island on the other, I have come to have an intimate relationship with the vegetation that embraces me every day. When looking and touching the majestic trees that I see at treetop level from my easel, I have come to understand that there is indeed a grand scheme to things. Nature has become my bible, my handbook on how to live my life. It tells me to understand, respect and support the connections that bind all together. Whether influenced by the movement and organic textures that inform my abstract work or by the radiant light coming from the late day sun that draws me in to the mystery of shadows and light in my representational work, my painting takes on the quality of ceremony.... a ritual of connection.... a celebration of life.
Today in my virtual world, Second Life, I am having an exhibition of paintings that is a collection of work that shows both my realistic interpretation of the trees that inhabit my world and my abstract interpretation of these same trees. My avatar's name is Littleone Aries and the Gallery is The Angel of the Mysts Art Gallery. There will be real time live music by the Seattle musician Edward Kyomoon and the event starts at 2 PM Pacific Coast Time. This would be a fabulous introduction in to the wonders of virtual reality. I hope to meet you there.
I'm excited and I'm nervous! Saturday morning (Feb 6) I'll be teaching the first of 4 painting seminars in Second Life. To my knowledge this is the first class of this kind to be offered in this virtual medium. I'll start with a general overview of how I put a landscape painting together and then move on to specifics such as composition & structure and color theory. What's exciting is that because there won't be any actual hands on painting being done, my friend at Snowcrash Digital has created very specific tools for me to use in demonstrating different methods of composition and color theory, designed specifically for the virtual experience! So not only will the students learn how to paint, but the teacher will learn how to work in a virtual environment. Living in 2 dimensions... I love it! Ha!
I'm excited and I'm nervous! Saturday morning (Feb 6) I'll be teaching the first of 4 painting seminars in Second Life. To my knowledge this is the first class of this kind to be offered in this virtual medium. I'll start with a general overview of how I put a landscape painting together and then move on to specifics such as composition & structure and color theory. What's exciting is that because there won't be any actual hands on painting being done, my friend at Snowcrash Digital has created very specific tools for me to use in demonstrating different methods of composition and color theory, designed specifically for the virtual experience! So not only will the students learn how to paint, but the teacher will learn how to work in a virtual environment. Living in 2 dimensions... I love it! Ha!
