Arte de Nuestro Corazon – art from our hearts.

Posted on September 12, 2012 by susie carranza studio

july 2011 was an exciting month for my husband and me. that month, our website Arte de Nuestro Corazon went live. LIVE!

Arte de Nuestro Corazon is spanish for art from our hearts. “our” being my husband, lawrence, and myself along with artist friends jose, annette, and theresa armas. we started the site as a way to share our work with people all over the world (hopefully!).

from our “About Us” page:

“We are a group of five artists who share the common interest of expressing our cultural and emotional thoughts through various types of art. The common goal is to share our Mexican/American heritage with other people that appreciate unique and inspiring art pieces. Each piece of art is designed and/or created by our hands.

Susie Carranza was born in Los Angeles, California and raised in El Sereno. Susie began her art by doodling on paper with her Sharpie marker. She now combines her Sharpie images with her paintings and mixed media pieces on canvas, wood, tin, plaster and clay. Susie’s art work has been in stores and museums in Southern California.

Annette Armas has been drawing since Jr. high school. Her art form has been a reflection of her personal life. Enjoying and creating traditional tole painting and selling her wares at boutiques around Los Angeles and Orange County for 24 years. With the passing of Carlos (her son) she has fully embraced her art through Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Her preferred medias are painting on wood, clay, tin and now canvas. She is now Co-Owner of CJ’s Angels with her husband.

Theresa Maria Armas jumped into the art scene in 2003. She started creating her art on canvas using her whimsical skeletons as the subjects. Theresa now has included sewing and mixed media in her work. Over the years Theresa has had her art exhibited in galleries and art shows in Southern California.

Lawrence Aguilar is new to art. He was introduced to the art world by his wife Susie Carranza. Lawrence prefers painting on wood and clay. He also enjoys working in mixed media.

Jose Armas has recognized his talent in painting Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) art. Jose’s vision of the art he creates is unique to his imagination. Much of his inspiration has come from his wife Annette Armas and his daughter Theresa Armas.”

getting the word out has been slow-going. sometimes (for me) painfully slow. have i mentioned that patience is not really a virtue i possess?! but i truly believe one day we will successfully create a large client base for our site with happy and satisfied return customers.

if you like colorful, culturally-inspired, original work, please check us out at www.ArtedeNuestroCorazon.com and let me know what you think! i have much more to write about our website and how it came about, so look for a much more detailed future post.

here’s some of the work i have available at Arte de Nuestro Corazon…

i’ll be adding new work soon to both the Arte de Nuestro Corazon site and my Etsy shop. i’ve been happily painting away and creating new work!

btw, you can also keep up with me on my facebook page at Susie Carranza Studio…

playing with paint…

Posted on September 1, 2012 by susie carranza studio

i’ve been painting. painting LOTS. finally! i’m trying to make more time to paint. it’s so easy to let myself be caught up in other things – dishes have to be washed, laundry needs to be done, phone calls need to be made, need to post something on my facebook page, gotta work on etsy shop……………yadayadayada..

not this week. this week i painted. happily and without guilt. i finished work left neglected, i found canvases, partially prepped and painted, and created new work. i painted with no thought to results. i just enjoyed playing with paint: brushing, dripping, splattering, mixing. messy and fun!

i also wrote out a ‘to do’ list for myself that was all creative stuff: create new canvas work, finish mixed media pieces, hand stitch new fabric ornaments, bead some new bracelets, take new photographs…

how do you find time to do what you love? is it easy, or do you have to plan for it? let me know!

going back…

Posted on August 14, 2012 by susie carranza studio

i never thought i’d describe myself as an artist. my ‘doodling’ (as i referred to my drawings) was just something i did without thinking. i could be eating a meal and something would come to me and i’d draw all over my napkin. if there was ever a paper and writing tool of any kind in front of me – watch out! i worked as a preschool teacher, and doodling was something i did (a lot!) during staff meetings…

(click on images to see them larger)

i love filling every inch of paper…

in fact, it was during these staff meetings that my friend & coworker Sheila would watch me draw. one day she told me bluntly (as was her way), “you’re going to hell if you don’t use the talents God gave you.” i laughed at the time. i loved drawing, but i also loved writing. at the time, in addition to being a full-time preschool teacher, i was taking a creative writing class that i was very involved in. i was even starting to send poems and short stories out and getting published in small magazines and publications.

fast forward to now…no more preschool teaching, not much writing, but lots of drawing and painting. so sheila (wherever you are!) – i’m trying! 🙂

i wanted to share one of my first – and favorite drawings. it’s a black and white heart, done with a Sharpie permanent marker. i LOVE drawing with Sharpies – i never start with pencils. just straight on with Sharpies. love the details you can create with them.

i always drew only in black and white. loved the contrast and boldness of it. then – surprising myself – i started experimenting with colors. i started making copies of my black and white drawing and coloring them in with markers (the heart on the bottom left side). i wasn’t sure i liked it at first, but i kept going.

the heart painting on the right side may be the first colored painting i ever did (i think it was around 2004?). until then i’d focused on drawing with either black Sharpies or colored markers.

i now paint mainly in color and lately have found myself missing working in black and white. so i’ve been drawing a LOT lately. just me and a black marker. on anything i can get my hands on – sketchbooks, manila folders, napkins, junk mail.

i feel like i’ve gone back to my roots. i’m doodling and i’m loving it!