Tempe, Arizona’s iconic Town Lake Bridge Park is one of my favorite places in my home town. I spent a many morning, afternoon, and dusk just watching the light change and the lights come up. It was also a great place to kayak, fish, bike ride, roller skate…or just stroll. I have done painted this view three or four times for commission…but this is one that I still have from my undergraduate years.
As most chicas in the early 2000’s, EVERYTHING was shoes — they were status symbols, they were the topic of so many shows, they gave you confidence, and they also broadcasted what you wanted to do be or what you wanted to be.
So when I was tasked to bring in my own still life objects for a painting class, I thought what an amazing challenge. Then after my first painting it kinda became a fixation through several of my academic projects. I explored their shapes, colors, and textures through a multitude of water-based media…and they still, although, a little cringeworthy, still showcase my love for bending space, composition, and even showcases my toe dip into typography. In many ways it shows the buddings of the designer I would later become.
A lot of people know me as “Nacho” — a not-so-mild-mannered art director by day, always-up-for-a-concert…or a road trip…or scavenger hunt-by-weekend-night wing-woman pal — but once upon a time, way back in the late 90’s she was known as “Theresa” and she was an shy, art nerd. GASP!
I still feel I have this dichotomy to my personality that this diptych portrays — even thought it is now over a decade old. They say that everyone has an “other” side…the older I get the less and less shy and wallflower-ish I am…but I also don’t feel I am walking/talking Gil Elvgreen model either. My true self lives between these two extremes…as I assume as many of us do.
I know I am a unique person…I have always been an odd duck, but before I became more comfortable in my own skin, I thought I was a sideshow freak walking around amongst the “regular” folks.
My “signs” of my oddity were on my face, in my name, measured by my weight, and even pushed the dynamics of relationships. I explored these extreme themes I thought of myself or “titles” that others have given me to see poke fun at myself and really see myself through the lens that others sometimes judged with.
