Tania's Scribbles

And I'm Back....

2011-05-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

I have been quite busy this month preparing for Open Studios and haven't gotten around to making any updates.

LIC Open went over really well. It was the first time I was a part of an Open Studio tour and although it was intimidating to have my workspace be open to the public eye, the event turned out to be well worthwhile. I got the chance to talk a lot about my work and was able to receive feedback, which was great for further developing my work.

I also met some really wonderful people, especially Deborah and her husband Daniel who were amazing enough to feature a piece about my work in his blog, Lobster and Canary. Do check it out and thank you again to the both of them for their support with my work!
I really can’t wait to be a part of the next open studios.

Aside from all this, I have been continuing to develop some new work. I have a few in progress that I have yet to photograph. But I will share one new piece with you, which is a mini version of what’s to come....

I need your votes...

2011-04-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

I recently entered a contest with the 3rdWard in Brooklyn. NY to possible win grant money to produce more work! Now I need all of your help.

All you have to do is, go to the link http://www.3rdwardopencall.com/Talvarez and click the stars to the top right of the page to vote! You can do this once a day for 24hrs and the results come in at the end of May.

Thanks for your help and start voting!

Esquisite Corpse...

2011-04-18T23:01:00.000-07:00

I spent and unusual amount of time in the Court Square diner last night with Moomba playing Esquisite Corpse. I love this game but usually the drawing doesn't end up that great, but i really enjoyed the one we made last night. I guess we can thank a couple GT's and Sammy's for that one!

What I Found on the Way to My Studio...

2011-04-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

Art Spirit 2 Show..

2011-04-15T23:34:00.000-07:00

Today was the reception for the The Art Spirit 2 show and it went really well. A huge thanks to all of my amazing and supportive friends and Family who trucked out to Brooklyn to see it!

MOMA...

2011-04-10T23:30:00.000-07:00

I visited the MOMA this Friday and there were some really great exhibits. I especially enjoyed that they had some of the work by William Kentridge. I really admire his work so I was extra excited to be able to see it in person for the first time. They currently have a new show running of German Expressionism that was extraordinary. They weren't allowing any photos to be taken so you will have to go check it out if your interested because it was well worth it.
I finally checked out the cafe, which ended up being a lot of fun. They have these little cards at each table that you can draw a little something on and submit to the MOMA. I'm not sure where they end up but it was fun to do regardless. My friend and I drew up a little camera and a cookie :) Thats all for now... Here are some paintings that I enjoyed during our visit.

William Kentridge


Philip Guston

William Kentridge

Mini Munny....

2011-03-30T23:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, I will start off by saying that I am probably too old to get excited about something like this...but...
I bought a mini munny today and I really can't wait to paint it!
I was in a check-out line today when I saw this little guy staring at me and I had no choice but to buy him. I thought they were the cutest little figures. I used to have a larger one that was pre-painted when I lived abroad and now have no idea where I left it.
I'm still not sure what I'm going to paint on this Munny yet but when I figure it out I'll be sure to post a pic.
Say hello to my litte munny :)

Chelsea Gallery Visits...

2011-03-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

I visited the Chelsea galleries today with some friends and saw some inspiring and some not so inspiring work.
One of the shows I enjoyed the most was from the Brooklyn based artist, José Parlá. I saw an article written maybe a month back on Juxtapoz.com and instantly became a fan of his work. So to be able to see the distressed sufaces and his usage of collage and mixed media in person was really exciting.
Here is a quick camera shot of one of my favorite pieces from the show.

Exhibition...

2011-03-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

I'm participating in a group exhibition called the Art Spirit 2 that will be running April 1 - 20, 2011. The opening reception is Friday, April 15, 6-8pm at St. Francis College ( 180 Remsen Street, Brooklyn Heights, NY)
I Hope to see you all there! Check out the flyer for more info...

Close-Ups...

2011-03-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

I was playing around with my camera in the studio and took some macro shots of the painting I am working on. The piece isn't nearly finished so this is all you get to see for now!

New Photos....

2011-03-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

This Saturday I had some friends come to the studio and help me out with some shots of work that I was having tons of trouble shooting by myself. All that money spent on buying myself a new camera and I cant understand the settings. Go figure.
Anyways...Thanks to Martin and Jess I finally have the pictures and was able to upload them this weekend to the LIC site and for some other stuff I needed them for.
Thanks to Martin and Jessica!

22"x30", Charcoal, Collage and Gesso on Folio paper

LIC Artists...

2011-03-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

I recently became a member of LIC Artists.
To check out some of my new work and the work of other Long Island City artists click ---->
http://www.licartists.org//index.php/ArtistsWork/index/294/0

Little Paintings....

2011-03-17T16:13:00.000-07:00

I've been working on some little paintings in between working on a larger piece. It helps me get away from the larger one before i get frustrated, paint over it and regret doing so the next day :)
I'll call it my time out painting...

10"x10", Oil Crayon and Graphite on Panel

New Work-New Varnish...

2011-03-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

16"x20", Acylic, Conte, Chinese Marker and India Ink on Wood Panel

So I finally finished varnishing my latest painting I gave you a peak at a few weeks back.

I bumped into a few problems towards the end of this piece.
I usually use spray varnishes to seal the painting and protect if from smudges, dust and light. Unfortunately the spray was leaving heavy glare marks and unwanted blotches.

After reading up a little on how I could fix this problem, I decided to try Golden Polymer Varnish with UVLS - Gloss.

The gloss did just what I wanted by comoflauging the glare, evening out overall appearance and intensifying the dark areas. I think this might be my new go-to varnish. Oh and a big P.S.! Take a photo of your work before varnishing! I waited until after varnishing and getting a photo of this was more than a big chore. Lesson Learned :)

Anyways...here is the newest painting..... Hope you enjoy!

MFM, Whoopie Pies and ME...

2011-02-11T14:27:00.000-08:00

I just finished working with MyFriendMoomba for a tee shirt design that we created for the proposal that the Whoopie Pie be Maine’s official state dessert. It was a fun project that I was really happy to take on and couldn’t have done it without the help of Gabriel Schmand, the owner and screen printer of MyFriendMoomba.

I wanted the shirt to be playful yet have a vintage touch. Keeping that in mind, I used old diner signs from the 50's as my inspiration for the shirt.

Check out the design and dont forget to check-in at http://myfriendmoomba.com/ for more information on the project.

Hope you enjoy the design!

New Design Work...

2011-02-10T13:20:00.000-08:00

Recently I have been doing a lot of commercial design work. When I was approached this fall by Nicole DiMarco to design her wedding programs and thank you cards, I was really excited to take on the job. Once we completed the wedding stationary, Nicole offered me the chance to design her business cards for her new Yoga Classes she teaches in Manhattan. For the Business cards we used a letterpress printing method that at first, I was hesitant to use, but I was really happy with the final outcome.

Thanks to Nicole for kicking off these new projects. I'm really excited to continue doing similar work in the future.

New Year and the start of new work...

2011-01-11T11:46:00.000-08:00

The new year brought me a little spurt of bad luck but with the bad came the very good.
I got commissioned to do another piece! I can't really show the whole piece yet... but I thought it'd be fun to give you a sneak peak with two detail shots. I will be sure to put the finished work up here within the next week or so.

Green...

2010-11-24T10:29:00.000-08:00

I saw this building on the way to my studio yesterday. Thought it was pretty amazing and wanted to share...

Inside my studio...

2010-11-21T22:48:00.000-08:00

Here are some new Studio Pics taken by my very good friend and artist Gabe Schmand...
Thanks Gabe!!

Oil Crayons and a Self Portrait...

2010-11-21T09:20:00.000-08:00

10"x10" Oil Crayon and Graphite on Wood Panel

I've been thinking about doing a self-portrait for a while now. So the other day I gave it a go and tried out these new Oil crayons I got for my birthday. They are kind of amazing because they look and feel exactly like oil paint yet dry ten times faster. These little crayons might just be my new favorite things. Here's the mini self-portrait I did using the Oil crayons on wood panel...

Sneak Peak of the MET

2010-11-20T16:11:00.000-08:00

I got a chance to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art today with my very good friend Casey and family that I haven't seen in quite some time. I had an inspiring day between chatting with my old Art School buds over some delicious pizza and the sneak peek of the Egyptian ward at the MET. We didn't get to spend much time at the museum because Casey, Ardeshir and Sia had to catch a train to CT...but whatever we did see was absolutely beautiful and made me want to plan another trip there later this coming week. Here are a few of the images I took on our visit...

Release...

2010-11-19T10:17:00.000-08:00

So the other day I found myself really suffocated by everything going on around me. The pressure of living in the city and the constant struggle to make something of myself and/or my work really got me down. So instead of going home and sulking about it, I decided to go to my studio and release some of the negative energy. Funny because I felt a little inspired to do so from my sister Natacha who is currently studying art therapy. After all was said and done this is the result....

Process...

2010-11-11T10:16:00.000-08:00

I've been working on a new piece recently and have made a strong effort to take pictures throughout the process of making it. Here are the photos...

22"x30" - Gesso, charcoal, acrylic and colored pencil on Folio paper

Hello new work and goodbye...

2010-09-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

Heres a piece I recently finished and gave away to a friend. I really like how it turned out and hope you do to!

New work...

2010-09-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

Charcoal, Acrylic, Wax Crayon and Graphite on Folio Paper (38"x50")

Studio!

2010-09-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

I'm finally settled into my new painting studio and have begun to produce new work!
It's amazing how the space inspired a whole new approach and energy to the work I've been creating. I feel completely inspired to produce new peices and have been brainstorming up some ideas for future pieces.
Here's a sneak peek at my space.

To my Brother...

2010-08-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

I'm Back! After a long and stressful summer I am finally getting back into the groove of things and updating my blog was one of my main priorities!
I was speaking with my brother today who is also delving into the world of art with some really great Lomography photographs. His stuff can be seen at http://antoniofalvarez.com
In speaking with him he asked where I hid some of my work that was previously on my website. I decided to renew my site a little while back and made a decision to create a more cohesive show of what I've done by removing some of the work that didn't fit. So just for my brother here are some of the older works that were removed. They were all painted while I was abroad in Barcelona.

The neverending hunt for an AFFORDABLE studio space...

2010-07-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

I went on another art studio hunt today. You would think after visiting 2 or 3 that I would find an affordable space I would like to rent. But unfortunately that hasn't been the case.
I found one today that is probably the most affordable of all I've seen yet.
This could very possibly be my future workspace if all goes as planned.
The best part about it is it has its own sink and window!

Sketchbook Project!

2010-07-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

Someone recently told me about this really cool project called the Sketchbook Project. You can order your own sketchbook here at http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject and have a theme randomly selected for you or choose one for yourself. I ordered mine today! I chose the theme; Sleepless. I'll keep you updated!

Puerto Rico...

2010-06-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

I'm back from my trip to Puerto Rico! It was definitely inspiring to see the colorful city of San Juan. I've been working on a new piece where i have been struggling with color and my trip to PR has definitely helped me to view the work in a new light.
Here's a little photo I took of a wall I saw in San Juan where I loved the texture and carved out text. It reminded me a little of what I am trying to do in my new piece.

Memories...

2010-06-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

(Charcoal, Gesso, and India Ink on Folio Paper -38"x50")

I painted this from my terrace in 2008. (Oil on canvas - 13"x49")

Not knowing when to stop...

2010-06-06T22:12:00.000-07:00

My sister had been bugging me for years to paint her a pear. Not really sure why of all things in the world she chose a pear.
Regardless, I finally started the painting on an 8x11 peice of masonite board. I was quite pleased about my little creation. Until, like with most things, I became obsessive and overworked it to the point of no return. This photo was taken shortly before I destroyed it with a brush full of gesso to hide the mess I made.
Guess my sister has some more waiting to do.

Barcelona...

2010-06-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about all of the paintings I had to leave behind when I left Barcelona to move back to NY. There was one piece in particular that I am most sad to have left behind. It was a painting inspired by a photograph that was taken by my very good friend.
Here's a photo of the work in progress...

Images that inspire me...

2010-06-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

My First Post!

2010-04-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos I took the other day with my Iphone of the mural I painted at 3Steps Bar in NYC.
Better photos to come...