Daylight Savings

The holiday season is right around the corner, and as Daylight Saving Time comes to an end here in the United States, we wanted to offer our shoppers some extra Daylight “Savings” in the form of free shipping this weekend!

Starting Friday morning (November 2nd) at 12:00 AM Eastern time, we’re offering free ground shipping on all orders placed through Fine Art America or Pixels.com and shipping to any destination in the United States.

The offer will run from Friday morning through Sunday night at midnight Eastern.

Please note - this offer is only valid for orders placed through Fine Art America or Pixels.com.

Here is the link to my profile page on Fine Art America: https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/cyril-maza.

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

Artworks for a Cargo Forwarding Company

Husband and wife Cyril Maza (CSMaza) and Lorna Maza (LLDM) completed two commissioned paintings that feature men delivering cargo boxes in remote areas in the Philippines.  The paintings were commissioned by Regent Forex, a cargo forwarding company with an office in Houston, Texas.

The paintings were both made using acrylic paints, on 24" X 20" canvas panels.  The titles of the paintings were chosen by the client, and are Forex1 and Forex2.

Forex1 shows a man sitting on the back of a carabao while signing a delivery receipt.  With him are two Forex agents, one in front of him and the other one behind him.  The agent in front of him is shown with right arm stretched out, reaching out for the signed document.  The other agent is shown holding the boxes that are placed on top of a bamboo sledge.  The sledge is towed by the carabao.  The background depicts a scene typical to farms in the Philippines, with trees, mountains, rice fields, and a nipa hut.

Forex 2 shows a Forex agent standing on the top of a small boat that is typical to rural villages in the Philippines.  With him are two boatmen who are trying to maneuver the boat as they start their journey to the other side of the river.  They are on their way to deliver the boxes.

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.

Recently Added Art Works

I recently added the following paintings to my website:

"Balancing Life Through a Straight and Narrow Path"

Size: 30" X 24" X 1.5"

Medium: Acrylic on Canvas

"Jeepney"

Size: 14" X 11" X 0.625"

Medium: Acrylic on Canvas

"Fiesta Ko Sa Texas"

(My Fiesta in Texas)

Size: 30" X 48" X 1.5"

Medium: Acrylic on Canva

"Fiesta Ko Sa Houston"

(My Fiesta in Houston)

Size: 30" X 48" X 1.5"

Medium: Acrylic on Canvas

"Picnic at the Farm"

Size: 30" X 24" X 1.5"

Medium: Acrylic on Canvas

"Let's Make Some Money"

Size: 18" X 24" X 1.5"

Medium: Acrylic on Canvas

Spectra Artists 2015 Summer Art Contest

Congratulations to the winners of the Spectra Artists 2015 Summer Contest Winners!

Lorna and I have joined this contest, and are pleased and honored to have our entries ("Boy Riding a Carabao" and "Picnic in the Farm") make it to the top 50 finalists.

The top 50 pieces, as selected by the panel of judges, have been included in the ongoing exhibition at Galerie Spectra, located at 303 Memorial City Way, Suite 822, Houston TX 77024.  The exhibition will be from July 10 to July 29, 2015.  

The panel of judges were Salli Babbitt, Mitch Cohen, and Walter Wagner, all prominent artists in Houston, Texas.

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.

Washing in the River

I finished this painting on the 4th of July 2013. It was a holiday (US Independence Day), so I did not go to work. I spent the whole afternoon, adding finishing touches to this painting, which I started a couple of weeks ago.

This painting shows two beautiful women washing clothes in a river. This scene may be considered typical in remote areas that are far from the cities, where rivers are the only source of water, both for drinking and washing.

This is an acrylic painting on a 24" X 36" canvas.  Prints of this painting are available for sale at 

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

Mother's Day Greeting Cards

According to Wikipedia, "Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in March or May...

     Mother's day in the Philippines is celebrated every second Sunday of May. A Filipino mother is called the "light of the household" around which all activities revolve. Families treat mothers to movies or lunch or dinner out, spend time with their mothers in a park or shopping at the mall, or give their mothers time to pamper themselves. Most families celebrate at home. Children perform most chores that the mother routinely handles, prepare food or give their mothers small handcrafted tokens such as cards.

 

     Although in its current form, Mother's Day is not a traditional Filipino holiday; this and Father's Day owe their popularity to American influence."

Playing Cards

"Three Men and a Lady Playing Cards" is the last painting I finished before the end of the year 2012. At the time, I was also working on another painting, which I continued and finished early in 2013. Just like what the title of this painting says, it portrays three men and a lady, who are busy playing cards.

I painted this based on photographs (not one but several photographs) of real people. The three men are actually one and the same person, myself, and the lady is my wife. Before I started painting this, I asked my wife to take several photographs of me, from different angles and in different positions while I was holding the cards. I also took several pictures of her. Once I got all the photos, I picked the most suitable ones, arranged them, and started sketching the images on a 30" X 48" stretched canvas.

The original painting is a 30" X 48" acrylic painting on canvas.  Prints of this painting are available for purchase in my Zazzle and Fine Art America (FAA) stores.  Please click on the appropriate links in my side bar to visit the websites.  Or, simply click on the image below to open the FAA page.

Father and Son

"Father and Son" is the third in my series of parent-and-child paintings.  The first two paintings are "A Moment with Dad" and "Mom and Babe."  This painting features a baby boy, instead of a baby girl, giving it a little bit of distinction from the other two.

All three paintings were made in the first quarter of this year (January to March 2013), and were painted using acrylic paints on canvas.  I finished this one on the 31st of March.

The background of this painting depicts a countryside scene, which is typical of rural villages in the Philippines.  There is a nipa hut in the background, as well as trees, mountains, shrubs, grasses, and tropical flowers.  The father is shown carrying his son in his arms, apparently standing on an elevated portion of the land.  A narrow pathway is shown on the side slope, leading down from where they are, towards the level ground below, where the nipa hut stands.

The Artist

Below is a picture of my first painting for the year 2013.  It is a self-portrait, entitled "The Artist."  It portrays me, Cyril Maza, painting on canvas.  It is an acrylic 24" X 36" portrait painting on canvas.

 

There is something special about this painting, beside being my self-portrait.  You see, I finished it on the 13th day of January, 13 years after the second millineum (2013) or 1/13/13, in my apartment that has a street number of 13131.  Funny, how the numbers are full of one's and three's, isn't it? 

Not only that, I finished this painting after fasting for two days, from Thursday evening (January 10) to Sunday morning (January 13).  I don't know how I did that (fasting), but I guess, I was just too busy painting that I had never even thought about eating within those two days.  I could have continued fasting, but my wife who was in the Philippines for vacation at that time, called me and reminded me to eat.  She got worried, after learning that I had not eaten anything since that Thursday evening.  I will never ever forget those days, for this painting will ever remind me of them.

I have already received several comments on this painting.  One comment came from a friend who said she was wondering how I was able to paint myself here.  She said, I seem to be looking at a mirror while painting this piece. 

I told her, "No.

I was not looking at a mirror while painting this.  I actually got a photograph of myself, taken by my wife (Lorna), painting our own version of Renoir's 'Two Sisters on a Terrace."  I used that picture as my starting point.  I copied that picture, but changed the colors of my shirt (white in the picture) and my pants. I also changed the background, added the table, the glass jar, the paints, and the paint brushes.  And, instead of showing the unfinished version of Renoir's painting, I showed a landscape with clouds, mountain, trees, and a lake."

The painting I was painting in the painting was supposed to look unfinished, hence I had actually refrained myself from adding more details and colors to it.  I was actually tempted to add the reflections of mountains, trees, and clouds on the water; but, I just intentionally refrained myself from doing so.  I said to myself, "save that for your next landscape painting."

Well, yes, I will probably come up with a landscape painting, similar to what I just described above, very soon.  Please watch out for it!