Thursday, October 31, 2013

The self discovery as an Artist





Æ Sastrias (Ana Elena Sastrías)
Æ Sastrias, Sydney, 2009














Everything started since Year 1 in Primary School. I knew from that early age I should have been an Artist.


Then, in my whole childhood at school I participated in class, sports and social events. Outside of school, I took swimming, private lessons of Ballet, then guitar classes, painting classes and art appreciation, gymnastics and English. My first Live Drawing experience was when I was 13 years old, drawing a nude model aged 50 years old.

I am still keeping one of my first oil paintings made of my imagination of a female nude. I think that painting might have been dated in 1975 or 1976.





My first Art Teacher in my private extracurriculum lessons was Laura Elenes.

My second Art Teacher in my private extracurriculum lessons was Bertha Célis de Velasco.

Both teachers were having very different ways of teaching. Laura Elenes promoted freedom, self discovery of style, texture, expression, Art appreciation and Art History, Life Drawing, Portrait sketches.

The other teacher, Bertha Célis de Velasco, was more focused on the canons of the proportions, perspective, colour fundamentals, Art History. There was no Life Drawing with her.
Her main field of practice as an Artist and Teacher were Portraits, mainly from photos.  I learnt a lot about proportions and canons. Here is one example of the works I did when I was 23 years old with this teacher. The name of this work is "The white napkin".





Then, after more than 10 years in private lessons, I decided to continue on my own for quite a while.

Here is one abstract work in watercolour. "When fire becomes water" 1987.







I am forgetting something fundamental for you to know about me....

I was born in 1962 in Mexico City. I lived 34 years of my life in Mexico and since 1996, once being married for 7 years in Mexico, my husband and myself decided to move to Australia to start a new life.
In Australia I kept my art to myself for many years, as the priority was working and earning money. I studied Computing Engineering in Mexico City at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. My Art was my hobby, not a profession. I do not have formal university qualifications in Art, but I do have experience. I had some experience putting exhibitions in Sydney, Australia since 2002. Much more actively in 2006, and after a period of inability to participate in Art promotions and networking like Exhibitions, Art Prizes or Competitions (from 2009 - 2012) due to the responsibilities of looking after my husband's illness until his death, then now in 2013 I am taking again the works that I left behind for you to appreciate in these blog pages. (See an overview of my exhibitions and works being exhibited in Sydney, Australia)