BELLE VM / OCTOBER 2014 ISSUE | Page 14

BELLE

The artist: Coralys Otero

On the final reveal, I was able to see my mom’s anticipation all over her face. Her smile and tears made me forget the troubles I had painting in the dark. From that moment on, my mom didn’t lose faith and stayed strong even in the darkest of times.

“Night and Day Still Blossoms”

(12”x9”)(18”x14”)(12”x9”)

The Asian culture has been a strong influence in my life and I wanted to express this with the beautiful image of Cherry Blossoms. Cherry Blossoms also know as sakura are one of my favorite trees. The Cherry Blossoms don’t last long and a full bloom happens over the course of a week. I used acrylic and threw different color paint onto the canvas. Then I took a brush and blended them together. Using a black paint, I created the tree with various strokes. With a medium brush, I took the colors pink, dark pink, and white for the Cherry Blossoms.

I never had the chance to see the Cherry Blossoms in person. It is something I wish to do as soon as possible. Until then, I had preserved their beauty in this painting. The Cherry Blossoms bloom beautifully in the day and enhance the stars at night. “Take a Swim in Space”

(24”x 35.5”)

It was Shark Week and after seeing many sharks, I decided to make my own. Removing the boundaries of the typical water background, I was able to make a beautiful galaxy as its home. I gave the normally white shark belly a colorful twist to make it one with the galaxy. I let my imagination take the wheel on this one and took each part of the canvas to work. Independents stars at a distance were made using a small brush and flicking the paint at the canvas. The star clusters were created using a fine brush to make sure each star was placed with precision. At the end, the white canvas had become one of the most colorful spaces I had created. “Created by Color”

(10”x8”)(12”x9”)(18”x14”)(12”x9”)(10”x8”)

This painting is another one of my favorites. I used two of my most inspiring imagery, the Cherry Blossoms and the Octopus Tentacles, and combined it into one overall concept. The 2nd and 3rd images uses strokes that crossed from the upper right to the lower left to create the background effect. The 5th image was created by a sponge and use of a dabbing motion to mix the colors. The 1st and 4th image was created by putting paint onto the canvas and wrinkling up a plastic bag. I pressed down on the plastic bag with a book until it dried. Peeling off the plastic will allow for various patterns created from the wrinkles of the plastic bag.

The Octopus Tentacles are elegant as they flow in the water yet strong when it grabs a hold of something. The Cherry Blossoms symbolizes beauty that is in conjunction with the elegance. I tried to convey a different emotion in each canvas using the tones formed with blended colors. I wanted to express that although the emotions may be separated, they are still connected at its core.