As an immigrant from Colombia, I find myself constantly drawn back to its colors and landscape as a means of expressing my relationship to it. I am often surprised at how vivid a certain shape or light from childhood comes back to me as I paint, and the bonds I feel with the ecology of both Colombia and Florida and the wonders of the Oregon Forests as well when I visit my daughter and her family. I’ve only deepened as I have explored various practices, which include clay, watercolor, batik on fabric, and my current favorite technique, acrylic asphalt inks, to portrait the Colombian biodiversity of the flora that is found through my native country.
As a retiree who recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Alternative Medicine, I find comfort in processing what I see around me and rendering it on a canvas. It is through painting that I feel most at home, and I deeply enjoy the step-by-step process of an art piece coming together, the way it forces me to slow down and inhabit something larger than myself. In this way, painting acts as a communion for me, offering a connection to both the natural and spiritual world, as well as the ability to heal through art.