July 19, 2025

BLOOMING BOND

 Hello people!

Welcome to another Saturday blog post.

Im so thrilled to announce that my painting BLOOMING BOND it's ready and I totally love it! so here I will tell you all about it.




During 2020 I saw a stunning picture of a brown horse by the photographer Sara Shier and I knew I was to paint it someday, the day arrived 5 years later and I could be happier.

At the beginning I didn't know exactly how I wanted it as I like to create my own compositions, then I thought about my late room design and that I've been filling my space with flowers, more than usual and I've realized how much I enjoy painting flowers and petals — how each one is unique, imperfect but perfect at the same time, and full of life. I started to paint without a strong statement, just inspiration from the picture of the horse and one self-portrait that I did years ago where I blended myself with flowers, but this time I wanted to do the same for the horse with oils and I wondered what would be the message, the clues.





The first clue or key word I had received was clear: CELEBRATION. Why? Because the first time when I finally received the canvas and made the sketch was during Father's Day, and then I understood the connection after realizing it was Father's Day….
All this made me connect again with my dad and his love for horses.

So, This piece is about celebration of memories, connection, and beauty — and maybe also about how love finds its way through brushstrokes
But also I have created this painting as a way to honor the deep, often unspoken bond between animals and the natural world, the masculine energy through a horse and the feminine energy with the beauty of the flowers.




Richly detailed and emotionally resonant piece that beautifully blends realism with floral surrealism. At the center of the composition is a majestic horse rendered in warm chestnut tones, its calm and soulful eye inviting a quiet connection. The horse’s presence is softened and surrounded by a lush, dreamlike array of oversized flowers in a spectrum of delicate colors — creamy yellows, dusty pinks, purples, soft blues, and muted greens.

The flowers do more than frame the horse — they intertwine with it, gently overlapping and blending into its form, almost as if the horse itself is blooming from within the floral tapestry. This creates a magical atmosphere, suggesting a unity between animal and nature. The background is rich with deep green foliage, enhancing the sense of depth and immersion in a hidden botanical sanctuary.

The brushwork varies beautifully between soft blending in the petals and more textured, defined strokes in the horse's anatomy and leather harness, creating both harmony and contrast. The lighting subtly highlights the horse's face and certain blossoms, guiding the viewer's eye with elegance.


🌿  Connection Between Nature and the Animal Spirit

The horse, a symbol of strength, loyalty, and freedom, emerges gently from a lush garden of blooming flowers—not as something separate from nature, but as part of its soul. The intertwining petals and leaves represent how animals, like us, are intricately connected to the cycles of life, beauty, and emotion. It's a reminder that gentleness and power can coexist, and that the natural world is full of quiet wisdom.


🌼 A Personal Tribute

This painting is a tribute to a memory, a feeling, and a presence that has stayed with me — the image of a horse that carried peace, power, and companionship. As I painted, the flowers began to speak to me as symbols of transformation, healing, and the seasons of life. Each brushstroke was like a meditation on how we carry love for animals and how their spirits often mirror our own. This piece is deeply personal, a way of expressing gratitude through paint.



🌸 Beauty in Contrast and Harmony

I was inspired by the contrast between the horse's strength and the delicate softness of flowers. In this painting, I wanted to create a space where both elements could exist in harmony — where the wild and the gentle meet. The flowers wrap around the horse like a cloak of dreams, expressing the idea that power doesn't always have to roar — sometimes, it blossoms.



🐴  A Symbolic Vision

Horses have long been symbols of freedom and intuition. As I began this painting, I imagined a guardian spirit of nature—a horse surrounded by the blooming language of flowers. Each bloom represents a part of the journey: resilience, softness, renewal, and quiet strength. This piece speaks to the inner landscape of those who feel deeply and live close to nature's rhythms.

This painting holds something very personal for me. Horses were my dad's favorite animal, and whenever I paint them, I feel a deep, emotional connection to him. He never had the chance to see my art, and sometimes I imagine what his face would look like if he could see this piece. I think it would have made him proud, or at least quietly happy in that way dads are. Painting horses has become a way for me to feel close to him — like we're still sharing something we both loved. The flowers surrounding the horse also carry meaning for me. Even though I grew up in the desert, flowers have always been part of my inner world.


This painting it's available HERE

This week I was also playing with the design of some images of a perfume with pineapple and ice essence from the brand Shay and Blue and I was working on some images with digital illustration inspired by the brand.









And as always I have been enjoying the Sky and the Earth so here I leave you a beautiful rainbow that I gave and a super beautiful mushroom that I found in my garden.





TO WATCH:  I prepared a video that is already ready on my YouTube channel where you can see what inspired me to make the painting, how I painted it, what my ideas were, my feelings, and where you can discover much more about my creative process. Don't miss it!




STAY HAPPY, CREATIVE AND KIND.
SEE YOU NEXT TIME!

XOXO
VALERIA


July 12, 2025

MY PAINTING "THE GUARDIAN OF THE RED GARDEN" IN THE 2025 OPEN THEME ANNUAL IN WEBSTER ARTS

 HELLO PEOPLE!

Welcome to another post.





Today I want to share that my painting THE GUARDIAN OF THE RED GRDEN was selected over 400 artworks! so only there were 31 pieces in exhibition.

The exhibition was held on Webster arts in Webster Groves, Missouri. The Open Theme Annual is one of the favorite gallery shows of the year. Juried by multimedia artist Gonz Jove, the exhibit artwork from thirty-one national and local artists.










Was a great opening reception and I feel so happy to be able to share my art and to see art!


And now, some arte from nature...

I love clouds and I look often to the sky, so here some pretty clouds while I wad sunbathing


Also I have finished my painting! but all pictures and details will be shared for my next post, meanwhile here the last bit of the brushwork: The powerful signature! and some portrait that I did with my beloved beautiful cat Pibi.






TO EAT: Ahhh! I have discovered the chocolate pretzels and the lemon scones from Traders Joe's...I can't avoid them every time I visit the store and I highly recommend them. Chocolate and lemon....heaven!

TO WATCH: I just finished the series "The big bang theory" and I enjoyed a lot, all the characters so different but they stick perfect to the trama, my favorite is Sheldon of course and I totally identify with him, for example:  We set the temperature at 72 as it's perfect. We don't floss near the mirror because it splashes, we are tea lovers, we don't drink caffeine, introverted, we don't like germs, we are dogmatic. ( I can be pragmatical too but I know Im dogmatic too), in short...we can be very eccentric.

TO LISTEN: I have been playing often "What is love" by Haddaway, this is a song from my teen years and never gets old, I love the energy of the song and also I like to say "Juarez love"  as this is my hometown and it's funny because I don't want to be hurt over there as the song says. 😂 



HAPPY LIFE!
Valeria 💋 

July 05, 2025

PAINTING FLOWERS FOR THE HORSE WITH OILS, PLUS UFO ART.

 HELLO PEOPLE!

Welcome to the post of today.



Has been a productive week as I have been painting flowers daily. Working with oils it's always a pleasure. The horse face is ready and I still have more flowers to paint but so far looks amazing, I have worn out 3 paintbrushes and Im almost done with a few more...I think this is the first time my brushes have worn out so quickly.

I've been working with a lot of turpentine, I keep some in a glass bottle that I brought in Marrakech, I paint with turpentine to make dilutions, I generally use linseed oil more and I think that's why my brushes have worn out faster.



Painting the petals is very relaxing. In addition, the oil creates layers and double reflections and the colors mix, creating dimensions. That's what I like about oil.

Lately I have really enjoyed working with black backgrounds for my flowers and herbs and applying colors over these backgrounds because they stand out quite a bit.






I'm getting closer to finishing and I'm very excited about how it's turning out.

This has been a quiet week with a lot of painting, a lot of walking, and I started running, which I'm very happy about because it's something I never imagined doing because I'm a person who has never liked running in my life. I don't run very fast. Maybe it's a fast trot, but for me that's already a gain. 

And while I was walking and thinking about all the things that have happened to me I found a message lying around that was perfect, I love when these things happens to me, God is always keeping an eye on me and this is one of many ways he speaks.


Speaking of incredible things, this month marks World UFO Day and it's all thanks to the event that took place in Roswell New Mexico. 

The morning of July 2, almost eight decades ago, something crashed on a ranch. Locals began to speculate that it was a flying object. The U.S. Air Force investigated the case for some time and concluded that it was a secret project monitoring Soviet nuclear tests, although doubts and rumors always surrounded the topic.

In 1997, the investigation was still ongoing, and it was said that the extraterrestrial bodies were "dummies" used in military tests. Despite the fact that 28 years have passed since those statements, doubts and different theories are always in the air.

SO....

TO WATCH: Don't miss the video I prepared where I talk about UFOs represented in art throughout history up to our time, super cool! (see attached video)

TO LISTEN: One of the songs I really like by Coldplay is Viva la Vida, so I brought it this week and I've been listening to it while I'm walking around when I'm exercising, I even dreamed about the vocalist who was going to play or give a concert in a hippie place like Glastonbury, but it was a very small place like a park, and the vocalist was there and he had water bottles as instruments and he was going to play the song, playing with water bottles making music with his ands, but anyway, here's the video of the song that I like, Viva la Vida.

TO EAT: This time I share with you a super simple, super easy recipe to make, which is potatoes in the air with cheese and mushrooms and it is one of my most recurring meals that I can eat almost every day. In addition to being super filling. Recipe: HERE