Gracias a la Vida - Thanks to Life - April Exhibit at Onda Gallery in Portland, Oregon

Gallery curator, Allan Oliver at Onda Arte Gallery in Portland, Oregon invited a group of Latino artists to create work in response to the lyrics from the song for an exhibit in April. He choose these two originals from my recent work. These are original one-of-a-kind pieces called Monoprints. Monoprints are the result of painting on a printing plate, then running it through a printing press, a magical process that always results in the unexpected. I like this form of painting, the gentle surprises at the end of the pressing are juicy, artistic challenges.

New Original Drawings and Paintings Over Monoprints

Working with the art form of the monotype at Atelier 6000 printmaking studio has opened new ways for me to translate creative inspiration to image and surface. Blending spirit with physical energy is a direction in my original art work that is now surfacing in different images for me.

Art Workshop at Atelier 6000 in Bend, Oregon October 23, 24, 25th

Bring flowing creativity into your artwork. Cristina is teaching a art workshop at Atelelier 6000 focusing on using painting and optionally mono-printing to work with the concepts.

Hispanic Heritage Month Sept. 15 - Oct. 15

The Colors of Culture It’s easy to stereotype a culture with a particular color palette, and Hispanic cultures, like Mexico are often seen by Northern neighbors through a lens saturated with color. The tint of that lens, saturated with stereotypes can limit the perceptions within one’s gaze. It’s not always a bad thing. A stereotype exists because it identifies a characteristic, sometimes with a negative view and sometimes with a positive view. The problem with stereotypes happens when the stereotype overrides reality.

New Portfolio of Color Consulting Projects

Be sure to see my new portfolio of architectural color consulting work. For each client I developed a color plan. A master color plan is a report detailing the variety of colors used in a project. That project can be a building such as a home, business or institutions like a school or hospital. You can also develop a color plan for an advertising, point of sale display or other type of business project. Over the years I've been an artist, I've developed many color plans for a variety of projects, including my ceramic tile point of purchase display at Home Depot Stores, a children's book and for homes and businesses.

Read My New Blog Devoted to Color

Color Conversations is my devoted to color. As a life-long artist and color consultant for homes, commercial property and business projects, I enjoy the seemingly magic synergy between people and color. Color likes and dislikes are often driven by unconscious thoughts. Exploring color use on a practical and personal level is exciting.

Exhibit: El Museo Cultural in Sante Fe, New Mexico

This summer 2009 my series of retablos are on exhibit at El Museo Cultural in Santa Fe, NM. This series of contemporary paintings is from my Hispanic Heritage Series. My work is based on the traditional retablo form, but with contemporary imagery of Madonnas such as the Guadalupe, Conquistadora and others. The art exhibit at El Museo Cultural is titled: Reshaping the Divine - Contemporary Hispanic Retablos Exploring the Sacred Feminine, by Cristina Ortiz Acosta. I use a longer version of my name for my Hispanic Heritage Series in homage to my New Mexican ancestors. What puts my images into the contemporary definition is that I "remake" the traditional iconic images rather than painting a verbatim image.

Wild of West - A Celebration of Ranch Life

West of West, A Celebration of Ranch Life, at the High Desert Gallery in Sisters, Oregon is in collaboration with Sisters Art Works. The exhibit is a group exhibit with different artist's expressions of ranch Life and rodeo. Opening day is a day long celebration and special exhibition of the Western lifestyle and living history.The first 6 years of my life in Central Oregon were spent re-habing an almost 100 year old ranch near Bend, Oregon. Come on by to take a look at all of the art.

Co-Teaching Art Workshop at A6

Patricia Clark and I are co-teaching the class, "Infringing Upon Barriers - Icons & Iconography" at Pat's beautiful print-making studio, Atelier 6000 or A6, in Bend, Oregon next week. It's going to be a lot of fun and very interesting. A6 is a "green" studio which means you won't be smelling toxic oil based printing inks. The light is beautiful, the workspace serene and well-balanced and Pat is lovely. This class will jumpstart your creativity as it breaks down the barriers between painting and printmaking.

ASU Arizona State University Exhibit - Love Always through January

Bones are one of my enduring motifs. I began collecting bones from the rangeland around my Bend, Oregon, home in the early 1980's. Since then, whenever I'm on a hike, if I see an interesting bone, I pick it up and bring it home to draw. This image is part of the Ofrenda for the ASU Arizona State University, Museum of Anthropology 9th Annual Dia de los Muertos exhibit, Oct 28, 2008 - Jan. 29, 2008.

Inside Design Internet Radio Talk this Friday!

I'm excited to tell you that this Friday morning (Nov. 14th, 10:30 EST) I'll be talking to the co-hosts of Inside Design internet radio show about art and design and sharing my inspirations with listeners. Listen to Inside Design internet radio show to hear the latest interior design trends, news, and ideas, brought to you by co-hosts Susan Featherstone-Schemm and Sherry Burton Ways. Listen every other Friday, 10:30 am -12:00 noon, EST to the Inside Design Internet Radio Show on IM4RADIODC.COM" To listen to the show you MUST login to www.im4radiodc.com at 10:30 am EST or 7:30 am Pacific Time on Friday, November 21st. Once you go into the website click listen now to hear the show.

Gottshalks Department Store Murals - Then and Now

The California based department store, Gottschalks opened a new 55,000 square foot store in Bend, Oregon last week. I sold limited rights* to 2 of my paintings, Spanish Sonata and Blue Bird Hacienda from my Spanish Rose Series to Gottschalks so that they could have them turned into murals for the atrium. Not only am I honored to have my art chosen, I am amused by the irony of making a mural 20 plus years later for the same location. Here's what happened.

Exhibit: Tango at Onda Oswego Gallery

Put on your dancing shoes, or just watch the show at the Onda Gallery in Lake Oswego, a suburb of Portland, Oregon. This exciting exhibit of images of the sensuous tango is accompanied opening night by live tango dancing and music. Proceeds of the sales that night benefit The Miracle Theatre in Portland, Oregon.

Exhibit: High Desert Gallery in Central Oregon Oct. & Nov.

Now, over a dozen of my luminous Madonna altars (retablos) are together for the first time at the High Desert Gallery in Central Oregon. The exhibit is at the High Desert Gallery in Redmond, Oregon for the month of October. Then the retablos will travel to the High Desert Gallery in Sisters, Oregon. Coincidentally, the first half of October is also part of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 - Oct. 15). Before this month, some of my images of the Divine Feminine have been exhibited in various venues, including Nordstrom Department Stores and Oregon Health Science University OHSU in Portland, Oregon. It's really exciting for me to see all of the retablos together, I hope you can drop by the gallery or contact Todd or Myrna Dow (the gallery owners/directors) for a private showing after hours.

Art Matters Interviews Cristina

Learning to draw and paint are only part of what an artist needs to do to create a art career. Learning the business of art is a study of it's own. Years ago I signed up for a year of career coaching with Art Matters. It is the best! I highly recommend working with Aletta de Wal if you want to learn everything you can about how to develop your art business. I'm honored that this month I am the featured artist interview with Aletta. Here's the info from the Art Matters newsletter: In This Issue of Art Matters, Aletta de Wal interviews artist Cristina Acosta