Statement: My main inspiration is the natural world. I love painting sea and landscapes, focusing on the beauty of sunlight illuminating the different shapes, colors and textures. I work with three separate media in a realistic - but impressionistic style. Al my pieces submitted will show my fascination with the ocean. The alcohol inks– From Above – gives the piece more of an impressionistic vibe. The watercolor piece, Waves, captures the fluidity of the water and in Final Light, the pastel medium give the soft glow of that last bit of the sun during a sunset.
Biography: Maria was born in Santa Clara, Cuba and arrived in the US in 1961. She came here on what was called The Peter Pan Flights. Unaccompanied minors were brought to the US in the hopes of expediting their parent’s exit from Cuba. She considers herself one of the lucky Peter Pan kids since her parents followed her out of Cuba within 4 months, others were not so lucky. They spent several months in Miami while her parents decided what to do in the new country. They were able to join her mother’s uncle and his family in San Jose, California in February of 1962. She doesn’t remember a time where she hasn’t drawn and painted. As a child she made her own paper dolls or solicited input from the adults as to what they would like to see her to draw for them. She received much encouragement from teachers throughout her early schooling and in high school became very interested in illustrators like J. C. Leyendecker, Normal Rockwell, as well as the illustrative world of Toulouse-Lautrec and Max.
