art diva studios visuals and verbiage by Rachelle Díaz
paintings
Colorbars set
Exploring another facet of screens, color science, art/creativity, what the human eye sees/absorbs/interprets/reproduces in this set. Specifically the idea of art as decoration, like wallpaper, as a receding into the backdrop of living spaces, not really serving an intellectual/spiritual/emotional purpose except to compliment the furnishings. [...]
Mechanically inclined: Cloth Studies
Many times I feel a need to take apart someone else’s art to figure out how it works (but not put it back together), just to satisfy my curiosity. These cloth studies were inspired by Pattie Lee Becker’s Ropes exhibit I saw at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art earlier this month. [...]
Mouthpieces
Pencil, ink, acrylic January-February 2010 Lately I’ve been doodling a lot, trying to regain a sense of design. It’s funny, because although I’m a full-time graphic designer (and production artist and customer service rep and project manager and copywriter and…), I feel I’ve lost a sense of visual design, of creating and arranging elements within [...]
Staring At Screens painting #2, and some thoughts on technique/theory vs tips/tricks
Staring at Screens painting #2 (original photo) Acrylic on canvas worked on June-November 2009 An issue of layered solids Although I have a BA in Art with a concentration in painting, I was never taught basic techniques how to wield acrylics or oils. Yet, at as artist, I’m highly skeptical of “tips/tricks/helpful hints.” in art. [...]
Can’t Stand Up, Don’t Fall Down
I’ll have some paintings in this warehouse art/music show… one night only! $5 gets you art, drinks, food, music Starts at 9pm 901 N. 13th Ave. Tucson Bookmark on Delicious Recommend on Facebook Share via MySpace Share with Stumblers Tumblr it Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post Tell a friend Print [...]
TV Screen
(needs some photoshop tweaking, not a very good photo) Acrylic on wood June 2009 part of the Staring at Screens series Heard this on NPR yesterday: As TV Changes To Digital, White Noise Fades Away A familiar sight and sound is disappearing as digital TV takes over from analog: television snow and the “white noise” [...]
One down…
The first painting in my Staring at Screens series is down, several more to go. Acrylic on canvas 2009 Here is the original photo, doctored in Photoshop for exposure/saturation to create the painting: My digital camera has been dying a slow death since the summer of 2008. Finally, back in March 2009 I couldn’t get [...]
Arizona Daily Star Caliente feature
An interview with yours truly and Tucson familia (PLAY, MAXED ART, Dinnerware Artspace) in the feature article of this week’s Caliente, the Arizona Daily Star‘s arts/entertainment section. Check out the slideshow, too! There’s an intro and 4 different sections. Intro PLAY’s black light art show in March (all my quotes are here) 7UP Performance Art [...]
Black light portrait of César
This is a portrait of my husband, César. Photo was taken in tungsten (regular) light. I used to have a black light, but can’t find it. Featured in a black light art show at PLAY in Tucson, AZ. Acrylic and black light-reactive paint March 2009 Bookmark on Delicious Recommend on Facebook Share via MySpace Share [...]
Bombs Away
Bombs Away Acrylic & latex on wood January 2009 Shown in Dinnerware Artspace’s art, politics and the soup of change show earlier this year in Tucson, AZ Click here for more information on the history of the piñata as a global symbol originating in China, Europe and the pre-Columbian Americas. Bookmark on Delicious Recommend [...]
Prisms
I started this painting over a year ago and never finished. When I re-visited it a couple of weeks ago, all that was on there was the red cube and light and dark backgrounds. It’s not a “serious” piece, just decorative. Acrylic and puff paint on vintage fabric 2007-2009 Bookmark on Delicious Recommend on Facebook [...]
Effigies
Dennis Rodman vs The Pinata, or is it the other way ’round? Latex and acrylic on wood January 2009 It should come as no surprise that I’d take groove over goth any day. So in the as far as flamboyant make-up wearing, boa-cloaked, spandex-clad 90′s celebrities go, I’ve always been more fascinated by colorful Dennis [...]
Mickey…
Mickey was too busy eating fried chicken to notice the cloud of piñatas forming overhead Acrylic on wood January 8, 2009 Interpretation #1: Mickey as Everyman Mickey has become so consumed with a relationship or addiction that he does not notice the other things in his life that could hold potential surprises: candy (good things) [...]
Black Candy
Black Candy Digital photographs and spray paint on rice paper October 2008 This is the final concept of Black Candy. It is not so much of a diptych as a magazine spread-type concept. The idea was to, of course, make a poster-size painting for a blacklight art show, but also to evoke a strong emotional [...]
love/hate
love/hate Acrylic and latex on wood August 2008; the background I painted in 2004. Desktop size available here for your enjoyment. Bookmark on Delicious Recommend on Facebook Share via MySpace Share with Stumblers Tumblr it Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post Tell a friend Print for later
vino
April/May 2008 Acrylic & paper mache on canvas I’m donating this to the MODA/VINO “Spirit of Italy” silent auction fundraiser for Heart House Austin. The idea was to do something that looked like a Bed Bath & Beyond print. It’s less edgy so hopefully that will bring in more money for the kiddos. It was [...]
The Treachery of Words
After René Magritte’s The Treachery of Images Ceci n’est pas un bong. Ceci n’est pas un dildo. February-March 2008 Acrylic and spray paint on canvas SOLD Bookmark on Delicious Recommend on Facebook Share via MySpace Share with Stumblers Tumblr it Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post Tell a friend Print for [...]
The Heavens Above
November 27-28, 2007 Acrylic and pastel with fabric and paper collage on paper. It was difficult to get a good photo, there was a glare on the paper no matter what angle I shot from. $200 Bookmark on Delicious Recommend on Facebook Share via MySpace Share with Stumblers Tumblr it Tweet about it Subscribe to [...]
Beauty vs Decoration
Revisiting the bird silhouette that was a major element in my 2004 paintings has made me realize how much my experiences over the past 3-4 years have changed my approach to making art. When I first started using the bird silhouette, it was basically a copy of some hipster pop art I saw on Gallery [...]
The Sky Below
“The order that our mind imagines is like a net, or like a ladder, built to attain something. But afterward you must throw the ladder away, because you discover that, even if it was useful, it was meaningless…The only truths that are useful are instruments to be thrown away.” Umberto Eco, The Name of the [...]
Bird painting III
November 2007, reworked from 2004-ish. Acrylic, colored pencil and paper collage on peg board SOLD Bookmark on Delicious Recommend on Facebook Share via MySpace Share with Stumblers Tumblr it Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post Tell a friend Print for later
Bird painting II
November 2007, reworked from 2004-ish Acrylic on canvas $200 Bookmark on Delicious Recommend on Facebook Share via MySpace Share with Stumblers Tumblr it Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post Tell a friend Print for later
Bird painting I
November 2007, reworked from 2004-ish Acrylic, puff paint, paint pen and gooey texture-y stuff on canvas $200 Bookmark on Delicious Recommend on Facebook Share via MySpace Share with Stumblers Tumblr it Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post Tell a friend Print for later