Post-Pandemic Studio Reopening!

After a long hiatus I have finally reopened my home studio to the public! I have been vaccinated and am raring to welcome art models to sit for me once again and create more art. This pandemic has taken its toll on me and put me into a state of depression that has affected my physical and mental wellbeing. Now with more people getting vaccinated and restrictions being lifted I feel like I have a new lease on life. I am very much an extrovert and find inspiration when socializing with people so all this distancing put me into a bit of a temporary artist’s block.

Yesterday, I had the chance to have Carlos Negrete sit down for some photos. Carlos is a beautiful Latinx man with a passion for helping and engaging with the queer community here in Portland. I’ve known him for many years and have been itching to get him in my art studio to take some photos. Carlos expressed that he has been going through his own journey of body acceptance and has been doing some modeling work recently too. He was really fun and easy to work with and gave me some very graceful and sexy images to work with.

Currently, I am working on a personal collection of paintings of “floral male nudes” that celebrate Latinx men of all shapes, ages, sizes and backgrounds. This collection is definitely testing my painting skills but I find the challenge exciting as it is forcing me to analyze the anatomy of flowers and birds. I am hoping to incorporate Carlos’ likeness into one of these paintings so please stay tuned!