art diva studios visuals and verbiage by Rachelle Díaz
paintings
No Mercy
What I liked about this series was that the women in the images were old, not that attractive, but still dressed nicely and wearing makeup. Yet instead of being contrived anti-models (who are fantasy) these women were very real, gritty. Something rarely seen in advertising. 2003 Acrylic on canvas, 36″ x 48″ $400
Beg/Act
The photo was taken from a Legacy ad against smoking. Obviously they were ill or suffering some kind of smoking-related loss. But without the anti-smoking message, the women’s faces looked like they were experiencing extreme pain or extreme pleasure in this sexual manner. I decided to combine 2 expressive yet ambiguous facial expressions for each [...]
Tree of Life
This was the first painting I did last in 2003. The bird and tree theme set the tone for the rest of my work for awhile, although each piece is very different. 2003 Acrylic and colored pencil on canvas, 36″ x 48″ Clearance special $50
Green Fan
My parents bought this old seafoam green fan at an estate sale about 15 years ago. It’s an interesting shape, with lots of bars going everywhere. This started off as an oil painting exercise for myself, but I just decided to turn it into a kind of surrealist painting collage. 2003 Oil, pencil and plastic [...]
We’ve Got It
I had saved these small magazine clippings for about three years, blew them up on a color copier, and also copied my hand on the glass. This piece shows personal themes of media, gender and food, all tied up with red thread. 2004 Mixed media on canvas, 18″ x 24″ $150
Armchair Warrior
You may recognize some of the digital art from the illustration section. I have a pack-rat mentality with paper clippings. I hold on to everything till it comes together for The Perfect Collage. The digital art is printed on vellum, and I combined it with some images on a color copier about a year before. [...]
Kaja
This portrait of a friend is done on a decoupaged piece of wood I found at a thrift store. 2004 Acrylic on found art, 5″ x 7″ $40
Fruitcase
I bought some bananas, lemons and a pummelo at the store and placed them in my fruit bowl. The bright yellow color of all three in was quite striking. I had to paint it, but I also feel fruit still lifes can get too self-conscious. I had some ideas to paint on unusual objects. So [...]
Lost in thought
Depression, or, Why Do Hot Dog Buns Come In Packages of 8 But Hot Dog Buns Come In Packages of 10? A friend suggested the second title. It’s such a serious subject, so it’s nice to have a funny twist. Plus, I’m a huge Animaniacs fan! 2004 Acryilc on peg board, 24″ x 36″ Collection [...]
Would You…
This is a painting of an old friend I haven’t spoken with in years. The wood is an appropriate surface because my memories are frozen like wood, like rings on a tree. Wood can also look alive when it’s beautifully polished, so much that we forget it’s just dead material. The life is in the [...]
Coffee
One winter day, I was sitting by the window at my favorite coffee shop. I noticed the bare, black branches of the trees and cold, white light outside were reflected in my cup. This seemed quite an extraordinary image to me, that particular day. 2005 Acrylic on wood, 12″ x 20″ $200
Brother B
A portrait of my brother, Rick. We sometimes call each other Brother Bear and Sister Bear because we liked the Berenstain Bears when we were little. Acrylic on wood 2005 Collection of Richard and Ruth Rouse
