Merry Christmas & Felicidades for the New Year!

Poinsettia Closeup Copyright 2010 Maria Soto Robbins

I'd like to send you my best wishes for a joy filled holiday full of love and good cheer. 

Thank you for your encouragement. For purchasing my work, for reading this blog, and for your warm and encouraging comments throughout the year. For connecting on Facebook, and Twitter,  reading my newsletter, and for sharing your life and thoughts with me. My life is so much richer because I know you're there!

I sincerely wish you a very Merry Christmas, and may the New Year be full of peace, good health and lots of opportunities to be creative!  

Lots of love and cariños,

Maria

If you would like to see more of my work,
please click here. 

Poinsettia Sgraffito Impasto Oil Painting

Copyright 2010 Maria Soto Robbins

I recently mentioned about how my poinsettias are inspiring me this holiday season.  You can read about it here.  There are several other ideas that I have for painting this lovely flower but a technique I hadn't tried before is sgraffito (not to be confused with graffiti-lol).  I think you can guess that this involves "scratching" or "sgraffitoing" the surface of the painting through various layers of the rich, impasto oil paint. The end of a brush is a common tool but I just used the sharp end of a palette knife. Actually there was very little brushwork on this one, mostly palette knives. It came out very sculptural and three dimensional. It certainly was fun to do and I hope you like it!  

Check out the prints and cards on Poinsettia Sgraffito Impasto Oil painting here.

msr107@gmail.com

Red Poinsettia & Bench

Copyright 2010 Maria Soto Robbins

This impressionistic painting was done in thick oil impasto with palette knives and brushes and it shows a poinsettia and bench with thick, rich impasto paint. This is what my front porch looks like each year around the holidays! I love red poinsettias next to my bench!

Dimension: 8x10x.75 gallery wrapped canvas with staples on the back
Media: Oils
Sold

Maria Soto Robbins
Miami, Fl
msr107@gmail.com

Poinsettia Closeup

Poinsettia Closeup by Maria Soto Robbins 

This is the quintessential Christmas plant. I explained about my poinsettia inspiration here and this is the first painting I've done as a result of that. I've been working and sketching a couple of others and I'll try to finish those before Christmas, I hope. There is so much going on!

Did you know that poinsettias are native to Mexico? That they represent over 85 percent of the potted plant sales during the holiday season? And you can tell if a poinsettia is fresh when they have little or no yellow pollen showing on the flower clusters in the center of the bracts. I love poinsettias and wanted to do this one in an impressionistic style and to show the bracts in raised impasto. Hope you like it!

Click here for purchase information in my etsy store.

Poinsettia Inspiration

Looking around my house, I realized I have at least a dozen poinsettias in different spots around our back patio and in the front entrance. Home Depot had a great sale and I couldn't resist! Just love this plant and this time of year!

Of course I'm inspired to paint it...

and next time I'll show you what I've done.

My Holiday Wish For You

Copyright 2009 Maria Soto Robbins

Thanks for reading and following my blog and checking my online ebay and etsy stores. For all your kind comments and purchases throughout the year, no matter how small, which I truly appreciate!

Wishing all of you a wonderful holiday, filled with peace, joy and love this season and throughout this coming year!



cariños,
Maria Soto Robbins
Miami, Fl
msr107@gmail.com

My Etsy & Ebay Stores will be closed from December 17 through January 2, 2010.

Red Poinsettia & Bench Original Oil Painting

Copyright 2009 Maria Soto Robbins

This impressionistic painting was done in thick oil impasto with palette knives and brushes and it shows a poinsettia and bench with thick, rich impasto paint. This is what my front porch looks like each year around the holidays! I love red poinsettias next to my bench!

Dimension: 8x10x.75 gallery wrapped canvas with staples on the back

Media: Oils

Please click here for more information about Red Poinsettia & Bench Original Oil Painting

Maria Soto Robbins
Miami, Fl

msr107@gmail.com