Special Artists Reception - Artists on Board

There is a special Artists Reception tonight from 5-9 pm at Galerie Spectra.  See more details below:

Spectra Artists, Inc. 303 Memorial Way, Unit #822

Memorial City Mall, Houston TX 77024

May 2016 Monthly Group Exhibition at Galerie Spectra

Galerie Spectra First Year Anniversary Celebration

Galerie Spectra celebrated its first anniversary last Friday, 11 March 2016, with an artists reception from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

That night is also the start of their monthly exhibition, which runs through April 13.  The exhibition features the works of the following local artists, in alphabetical order:

Adam Donleavy
Barb Blu
Beatriz Clarke
Cyril Maza
Daniel Houston
Darlene Abdouch
David Vander Linden
Dennis Fehr
Jim Adams
Josepth Culotta
Kim Erickson
Lorena Fernandez
Lorna Maza
Lou Sprinter
Margaret Bailey
Mark Lusk
MaryAnn Lucas
Maureen Low
Michael Blome
Nan Toole
Norman Gabitzch
Stutz
Richard Eastman
Rona Lesser
Suzanne Buckland
Yvonne Ybarra
Zilla Adams
Zuki

It also includes special installations by Kelly Stewart and byArtist of the Month David Mortensen, at the back rooms of the gallery.  There is also a sale of small art works, displayed on grids and tables, priced at $100 each.

Entertainment during the celebration was provided by Virtuosi of Houston.

Galerie Spectra is located at 303 Memorial City Way, Set 822, Houston TX.  It is inside the Memorial City Mall, at the north entrance between Macy's and Dillar's.  It is open during mall hours.

An article from Houston Chronicle, dated 12-18 March 2015, tells about the story behind the opening of a new gallery inside the Memorial City Mall.

Lorna Maza and Vella Almazan taking selfies inside the gallery.

Cyril Maza posing by the works of a fellow Houston artist, Kelly Stewart, in one of the back rooms of Galerie Spectra

Two of Lorna Maza's paintings.

Members of the Galerie Spectra posing for some pictures.

Members of the Galerie Spectra posing for some pictures.

Virtuosi of Houston provided musical entertainment during the celebration.

Hallway towards the back rooms of Galerie Spectra.

Our Artworks Are Now Available in 150+ Retail Locations in the US and Canada

Fine Art America has recently announced a new partnership with Deck the Walls, The Great Frame Up, and the Framing and Art Centre!

If you live in the US or Canada, you probably recognize at least one of those business names.  They are all custom frame shops with hundreds of locations nationwide.

Deck the Walls and The Great Frame Up have hundreds of retail stores located in malls and shopping centers throughout the United States, and the Framing & Art Centre is the largest framing franchise in Canada.

Fine Art America has partnered with all three companies in order to power their e-commerce websites and in-store kiosks.  The partnership enables all three franchises to sell framed prints, canvas prints, greeting cards, throw pillows, and more from us (Cyril and Lorna Maza), as well as from other living artists and photographers who are members of FineArtAmerica.com.

Fine Art America has provided each franchise with a custom-branded website powered by Fine Art America's e-commerce technology:

http://shopdeckthewallsart.com/profiles/cyril-maza.html

http://shopthegreatframeupart.com/profiles/cyril-maza.html

http://framingartcentregallery.com/profiles/cyril-maza.html

The three franchises, combined, have more than one hundred and fifty retail locations throughout the United States and Canada.  Next time you visit any of their shops and don't like what you see on their walls, ask them if you could check their website.  You may find our art works in there.  Just search for my name (Cyril Maza).

When you purchase a product from the franchise's website, Fine Art America handles the logistics of printing, manufacturing, and fulfilling your order.  All orders come with a 30-day money back guarantee.

CSMaza Artworks on T-Shirts and Other Apparel

We are now selling t-shirts and other apparel, with prints of our art works, on Pixels.com!

We have available t-shirts, sweatshirts, v-necks, tank tops, women's t-shirts, junior t-shirts, long sleeve t-shirts, and more.

Pixels.com has revolutionized the way that artwork, home decor, and apparel are bought and sold around the world.  With a few simple clicks, buyers can browse and pick from our selection of art work images and instantly purchase print-on-demand products online.  Pixels.com fulfills each order on our behalf - taking care of the printing, framing, matting, packaging, shipping, and collecting payments from the buyers.  Each product is manufactured at Pixels.com production facility and delivered with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

http://pixels.com/products/harvest-time-cyril-maza-long-sleeve-tshirt.html

Now Shipping iPhone and Galaxy Cases from UK and Australia

We are very pleased to announce that we have begun shipping iPhone and Galaxy cases with my art works from our new production facilities in the United Kingdom and Australia!

What does that mean?

It means that all orders for phone cases will ship to any address in the UK within one business day... and to any address in Europe and Australia within 2 - 5 business days!

It also means low shipping rates and no import taxes!

The UK and Australian centers will be fulfilling orders for all of our websites, including the following:

http://cyril-maza.fineartamerica.com

http://cyril-maza.artistwebsites.com

http://cyril-maza.pixels.com

http://cyril-maza.fineartinternational.com

http://cyril-maza.finearteurope.com

http://cyril-maza.fineartengland.com

http://fineartdownunder.com/profiles/cyril-maza.html

http://cyril-maza.fineartgermany.com

We are currently offering cases for the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and the Samsung Galaxy S4, S5, and S6, as well.

Each case is custom manufactured using your selected image, shipped from our production facility, and delivered to you with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Entrepreneurship

In order for our nation's economy to grow, we should encourage entrepreneurialism rather than vagrancy. Entrepreneurs are a driving force that moves our economy forward. They are the people who dare to step outside their comfort zones, bringing innovations, new products and services to the market, taking the risk of losing, while creating jobs and opportunities for other people.

Most people prefer to stay in their comfort zones, having stable jobs and receiving monthly pay checks, without worrying of going bankrupt. But, all that are made possible because somebody, an entrepreneur, has spent time, effort, and resources, long before they even got their jobs. The sacrifices made by entrepreneurs that went ahead of them made it possible for them to live comfortably today...

A good example of entrepreneurs are the independent artists.  They spend time and resources on their works, long before their works are even recognized or appreciated.  Just like other entrepreneurs, they create jobs and make it possible for other people such as these craftsmen and women to make a living…

Imagekind - Workshop from Imagekind on Vimeo.

When you buy something from an artist, you're not only buying a small piece of their heart, soul, and life; you are also contributing to the growth of our nation's economy, by keeping people like them employed.

Let us support entrepreneurs who are bringing in new innovations, new products, and new services to the market, by promoting and patronizing them. Their success is our success... Their success is the key to our future, to the future of our children, and to the future of our children's children.

Boy Riding a Carabao

A Caucasian boy named Isaiah, from Houston TX, went to the Philippines to spend a vacation with his family. He was visiting the Philippines and his relatives there for the first time. He had a wonderful time, playing with his cousins and meeting new friends.  He really had a lot of fun back there.

This painting shows Isaiah riding a carabao.  It is an acrylic painting on an 18" X 24" canvas.  It was completed on December 21, 2014.

For those who have not seen or heard what a carabao is, a carabao is a swamp type domestic water buffalo found in the Philippines. It is considered the national animal of the Philippines.  Carabaos are used for farming and for pulling carts in rural villages in the Philippines. They are also a good source of meat, milk, and hide. Carabao hide was once used extensively to create a variety of products, which include the armor of pre-colonial Filipino warriors.   Also, according to Wikipedia, "the carabao is considered a symbol of Guam. In the early 1960s, carabao races were a popular sport in the island, especially during fiestas. Today, carabaos are a part of the popular culture. They are often brought to carnivals or other festivities, and are used as a popular ride for children."

Below is a series of photos I took while I was working on this painting.

No. 1

No. 2

No. 3

No. 4

Dogs Playing Mahjong - A Work in Progress

I have been working on a new art work recently.  This time, it's a graphite drawing on an 18" X 24" paper.  I am drawing four dogs playing mahjong.  Here is a picture of my drawing in progress:

It's almost done, but I need to work on it a little bit more.  Hopefully, I'll be able to finish it next week end, most probably on Sunday.

It's Sunday night right now.  I have been working on it the whole afternoon.  It's about time to stop and take a rest.  Tomorrow, I will be working in the office as an engineer as usual, and will not be touching this drawing until next week end.

House with a Water Pump

Painted from memory, this painting shows the house where I grew up. My parents built the house in a barrio around two miles away from the town proper. 

That house is probably the first concrete house that was ever built in that area. Our closest neighbor lived still a few hundred yards away.

It was almost surrounded by rice fields and fruit-bearing trees. The only other man-made structure in that area was a small pump house, which my parents had also built, to house a diesel-powered water pump. That pump was used to irrigate the rice fields. 

It was very quiet in that area, being away from the town proper and all its busy streets. In the morning, you could wake up at the sound of chirping birds, and at the crowing of roosters. At night, you could hear the chirping of crickets and, specially after a heavy rain, the croaking of frogs. 

The house had not yet been connected to the local power grid when we moved in. We basically could not use any electric-powered appliance during those times. At night, it was very dark, and we only used kerosine lamps for lighting. Outside, we had the stars and the moon giving light from the sky above us. And yes, we also had fireflies that gave light from the trees in front of the house. I still remember the fun and the laughter we had catching fireflies, and playing in front of the house during full moons. 

This painting is an acrylic-on-canvas painting. I finished this painting on the 25th of January 2014, and is my first painting for the year 2014.

Homework

I painted this from my childhood memories.

I was in fifth grade when my family moved to the house, which my parents had built for us. It was in a barrio around two miles away from the town proper. The house was barely finished when we moved in. We did not even have electricity. It took months before we eventually got the connection to the local power grid. During those months, we only had kerosene lamps for lighting.

I still remember myself, studying, reading, and preparing my homework at night with the help of those kerosene lamps.

This is a 16" X 20" acrylic painting on canvas. I finished this painting last Sunday, August 25, 2013.

Kite

I finished this painting on July 6, 2013. It was Saturday, the first Saturday after the 4th of July. I really wanted to finish this painting that weekend, because this painting had been sitting unfinished in my studio for quite some time already. I actually started this painting three weeks ago, in one Sunday afternoon. The truth is, I started this painting even before I started the painting "Washing in the River," which I finished last Thursday (4th of July).

.....

This painting shows a boy flying a red kite, while sitting on a huge rock on top of a hill overlooking the crop fields below.

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This reminds me of my childhood days. When I was in grade school, I enjoyed flying kites with my friends and siblings. Our school had a wide playground where students loved to play and run around after school. We would even go there during weekends. Sometimes we would bring our kites to school and fly them later after attending our classes. We would spend the rest of the afternoon that way.

Prints of this painting is available for sale at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/cyril-maza.html.

Website for Artists

Transform your images into a flourishing online business.  Click on any of the images to start a free trial.  

You may be able to sell prints, framed prints, stretched canvas, greeting cards, t-shirts, cell phone covers, tote bags, etc.