It All Falls Apart Series

Hey ALL!!!
It has been awhile since i posted about what I have been up to.
So recently I just moved back to the Bay Area after living 2.5 years in Mexico City (DF).
This series I have entitled It All Falls Apart. It all really started from my interest in lines and geometric shapes. I have always been drawing and I feel like this series came out of my daily drawing practice of trying to capture fleeting moments & feelings. Most of the imagery comes from continuous one line drawings, which  reflect the continuity of life.

I started this series while living my last few months in DF. And now that I am back in SF Bay Area
I am still continuing the series.

The premise of this series is based off of my past studies of Buddhist philosophy and metaphysics. The idea came from the fact that everything is truly one in the same. Whether we are talking about us or other matter. All things are made up of molecules, atoms, energy, etc. Therefore we are all constantly changing and evolving. The idea of this series is that we are no different than each other on the molecular energetic level. We all are made up of the same material. As a result we need to see the world in that way. That all is the same in the process pattern and material. We are all changing and evolving along the path. All things are in a process of creation, evolution, and destruction. In essence we all share this cycle.

Another aspect of Buddhist philosophy that this series comes from is the Heart Sutra, which states that "Emptiness is form and Form is emptiness." What I gained from this sutra (teaching) while studying it in the past was that all is empty of meaning and we put meaning on whatever the object is. This object becomes subjective experience. Therefore whatever we deem or name becomes that thing. though in reality nothing actually is what we say it is. Things are actually devoid of meaning.
This series pokes at that the fact that the objects I have painted are in fact just things, parts, objects that we have given names (for ex: arms, legs, hands, eyes, etc.) Mainly I have painted these parts as forms, objects, and things we see, touch, use everyday. The thing that I am trying to capture is that we are all different but really the same. We are all made up of parts that we give names but in reality we are all one in the same.

Even the chosen color scheme I chose to use in this series is monochromatic. The idea behind this is that although we all look different we are really from the same shades of life. Also that life is never just black and white but it is instead a bit of both which together makes up the grey aspects of life.
Here is most of the series that has evolved and there will be more to come out of this series since it is an ever evolving process.

I have included some of the original sketches with the final paintings. ENJOY!
Also I am looking for places to show this great body of work in the Bay Area or Mexico City.
If you know of anything please message me.

Follow me on Instagram if you are on there to see more instant updates: rayos_magos

  All Eyes on Me

    All Hands on Deck

                                 

 Get on a Good Foot

Brainiacs

 Listen Up

Tongue Tied

Don't be Nosey

Heart to Heart 

Bored Out of my Skull

Lip Service

Chatter Box

Just Breathe

Faces & Places

Hi All!
I have been painting without sharing much. But here i would like to share with you some new paintings that i have finished within the past few months.
Most of these faces are people that I have come to know in more than one way and in more than one place. From long term friendships to recently made ones. The backgrounds of each painting is uniquely different and captures a bit of each person's personality as seen through my eyes. As you know i have been living in Mexico City for the past two years. Time really flies doesn't it. I will continue painting these portraits of people that i know and who i will come to know in the future. Also i am offering to paint your portrait if you are interested in supporting me economically speaking . this would be helpful for my continuing of future paintings and materials.

¡Hola todos!
He estado pintando muchísimo sin compartirlo mucho. Pero, aquí me gustaría compartir las nuevas pinturas que terminé dentro del último par de meses. La mayoría de los rostros son de personas conocidas desde hace mucho tiempo, en diferentes partes y de maneras distintas. Desde relaciones largas hasta relaciones recientes. Los fondos de cada pintura son diferentes y únicos, capturan un poco de la personalidad de cada persona vista a través de mis ojos. Como ustedes saben, durante los últimos dos años he estado viviendo en la ciudad de México. De hecho el tiempo pasa volando ¿no? Continuaré pintando retratos de las personas conocidas y demás que conozca en el futuro.
También estoy ofreciendo pintar tu retrato, si estás interesado en apoyarme económicamente. Podría ser útil para mí para realizar más pinturas y conseguir mas materiales en el futuro.

Nancy la China

Nadia

Cesar-Rafa

Brima

Sandy

Random girl (found her picture)

Eva

Rayo

Brenda

Christine

Gabi

Wanda

La Cultura Mexicana

Currently I have been working with linoleum printing. I really the love the utility and simplicity of the medium. To be able to draw an image then to have to carve it out is very tactile. I love this medium because you have to keep working at the image in order to get the right print. Everything is printed backwards and you have to subtract white spaces and leave the black spaces. Its quite fun and meticulous on the same hand.

This series of prints have been influenced by my almost two years of living here in Mexico City. I am constantly in awe of amazement with the culture that I am surrounded by. Everyday here is like an improvisational theatre show. Please come visit me if you have time and a sense of adventure.

The first print i made was "El Gallo" a common representation of the early riser and of farm life. The second print I made was the "Laugh now...Die Later" This idea of enjoying life now and in the moment is what my experience here in MX has been like. The people really do enjoy what they have & what they do. The third installment of these pieces was "El Corazón" which is Spanish for heart. For me, people live here with a lot of heart & soul. Therefore, I wanted to place emphasis on this image. Lastly, I created a piece entitled "Hijos de Maiz" which is a common saying and is something that a friend told me. The saying comes from the Mayans who believed they were descendants of the corn God and that they were grown from the land.

El Gallo 

Laugh Now...Die Later 

El Corazón

Hijos de Maiz

La Batalla de La Vida y La Muerte = The Battle between Life and Death

This series was made back in winter 2013 & I had a lot of success in selling most of them in San Francisco at The Incline Gallery. If you don't know about this gallery please do yourself a favor & check them out. 

The goal of this series was to capture the day to day battle we have with life and death. Constantly we are losing & growing new cells everyday. We often fight with ourselves, each other, and other existential crises in our short span of life. Therefore the imagery was meant to evoke this feeling of the fight between Life and Death. Unfortunately, there are no more pieces of this series. Though I am in a current process of making a similar series. Check back soon. Enjoy!

The Ex's Series

It has been way too long since I have posted. I have created way too many series of work since that time. Therefore I am sharing with you one of the latest series I painted back during Sep - Nov 2014. This series is about ex-partners and the memories that we hold of these people who have come to pass. The idea came from my own experiences with heart-break. Perhaps this series was a  way for me to clear my head & make sense of the loss.

I want to explain a bit of the symbology that I have placed in the paintings so as to clarify any doubts or questions. First, I describe the red lines through the women´s eyes, which signify that with some ex-partners, the pain becomes unbearable to see the sight of them. As a result there is a a distancing process that happens and the crossing out of the eyes is the way to create that distance & ambiguity. Secondly, the rosy cheeks signify that these were once happy moments with these ex-partners and yet, the dripping signifies that those moments are changing. Lastly, the models that I chose to paint are actually vintage models. Therefore the idea of vintage signifies that these moments were also vintage which are captured in your mind and are forever changing.
I hope you enjoy this series as much as I did.