Happy Sunday friends!
It's been a while since I've reached out and I wanted to fill you in on my current art happenings.
Every Day Original
I am pleased to announce that my new painting Spirit Walker was featured on Every Day Original last month. If you are unfamiliar with Every Day Original, please go to their site and check them out. Every day they send out an email that features an original small art piece for sale by a different artist--and wow there are some amazing artists featured!
Spirit Walker got snatched up and is no longer available for purchase, but I do have 3 different sizes of high quality giclee prints available now on my Etsy. I am also offering free shipping for a limited time, so this is a great time to pick one up.
Spirit Walker is a very special painting to me and probably my favorite so far that I have done. It is based upon the Celtic/Welsh mythology of the Cwwn Anwwn (pronounced "coon ah-noon") the red-eared, white coated phantom hounds of the Underworld, who were later dubbed as the "Hounds of Hell" by Christians. In the mythology I chose to illustrate, we have a pair of these hounds that live inside of us, coming out when necessary as guides and protectors. Spirit Walker depicts the ability to transverse between the Otherworlds, the Underworld and this reality that we know and are generally fully steeped in. It is also the first of a series of mythological paintings that I am really excited about, more to come soon.
Las Laguna Gallery
I am also excited to share that my painting Believe is going to be in Las Laguna Gallery's Women in Art Exhibition in March 2019 and was chosen to be featured as the promo art. If you are a woman artist, Las Lagunas is accepting entries into the show-the deadline is February 4th so get your entries in! The exhibition will run from March 7-March 29, 2019.
Believe is another special painting to me, and is about our strength to go within, discover and be true to who we are despite all the distractions and opinions of others, the media, and society at large that we are constantly surrounded by.
Full Moon Painting Series
January 20/January 21 (depending on your time zone) is a Full Blood Moon Eclipse in Leo! The perfect way to kick off my new Full Moon Paintings studies series which is something I have wanted to delve into for awhile now and there is no better time to start than now with the first full moon in a brand new year! It is my intention to create a Full Moon painting each month which explores the mythologies and astrology around that particular full moon and the related zodiac signs. I'm really excited about this series! I tend to get a bit serious and mentally heavy with my paintings and have been wanting to have fun, play, explore and experiment with animals, design and mythology in a series of small paintings in between larger, longer paintings. Here is the very first one--Leo Wolf Moon.
The January Full Moon also happens to be an eclipse which is created when the Sun, Moon and Earth are aligned in such a way that the Earth stands in the way of the Sun's light, creating a shadow on the Moon's face. The blood red color created is due to sunlight scattering across the Earth's atmosphere, the same concept as to why sunsets and sunrises appear red.
The January Full Moon is typically known as the Wolf Moon and is named for the wolf packs that were heard howling outside villages who named this moon so long ago. Wolves have long been associated with the Moon, night and the shadow self. Other names for the Moon include Hunger Moon, Old Moon, Ice Moon and Snow Moon. This Wolf Moon happens to occur this year when the Moon lands in the astrological sign of Leo, associated with the Sun. We have the Full Moon (wolf/shadow) in a Sun sign (lion/illumination)--this is about balance of course! We are also in the zodiac sign of Aquarius, which is about individuality. Leo brings intuition, creativity and illumination as well as bright and proud energy to the mix. I think this can all be summed up by contemplating on ways to shine our individual light bright into the world, not worrying about what others think as well as paying close attention to both the shadow and light aspects of ourselves to remain in balance.
Great Frozen Lake of Moon Rises
I am Crouching Wolf, Lap it's Light
Rise Filled with Silver Helium
My Voice Clear as Water Beneath Ice
Ruth Yvonne Nakamura
That's it for now! Would love to hear from each and every one of you so feel free to respond to this email! Until next Full Moon,
xoxo
Mary Ancilla Martinez
www.maryancilla.com

Happy Sunday!