LOOKING FORWARD, watercolor and book cover

Looking Forward, watercolor and cover of my new book: LOOKING FORWARD: SOUTH AMERICA CRUISE watercolors by Minnie Valero, available from Blurb, here:

http://blur.by/1bmi8fi

This book is being published as I write this, first available date is December 10. You can see up to 15 pages in the Blurb website. Take a look, and get your copy now! I am trying to follow Benjamin Franklin's advice: "Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."

NATALIE OF PALMIRA, pastel

Natalie of Palmira, pastel, 16x12 in. In exhibition and for sale at Women's Museum of California, San Diego, California.

Will Gompertz, director of the Tate Gallery for seven years, has recently published the book: WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?, 150 years of Modern Art in the Blink of an Eye.  The book is written in a fun and casual way, yet with excellent ideas, information, and profound comments. One of the best things about this book is the chart of the art movements and "isms" of the past 150 years. Strongly recommend it!

Minnie Valero: FRUTO DI AMORE, watercolor

Minnie Valero: FRUTO DI AMORE, watercolor: Fruto di Amore , 9x6 in, watercolor. Painted in Assisi, Italy, after beautiful Aria, who delighted us with delicious breakfasts every morn...

FRUTO DI AMORE, watercolor

Fruto di Amore, 9x6 in, watercolor. Painted in Assisi, Italy, after beautiful Aria, who delighted us with delicious breakfasts every morning, during my residency at Arte Studio Ginestrelle this past July and August.

The Elements of Design are LSD + CVS + T , which stand for Line, Size, Direction, + Color, Value, Shape, + Texture. Ken Goldman said  that these elements are like the ingredients. Like when you are making cookies, and you need MSF , for example, Milk, Sugar, Flour, etc. The elements alone, by themselves, don't do anything, cannot produce a painting. But without them, we don't have a painting either! Stay tuned...tomorrow the solution!

KEN GOLDMAN SKETCHING, pen on paper, alla prima

Ken Goldman Sketching, pen on paper on my art-notebook, live and alla prima at the La Jolla Riford Library. Ken was doing a portrait from a live model, as demonstration for the San Diego Portrait Society. I sketched the sketcher.

Ken Goldman is an internationally known artist, author, teacher and juror. He was teaching us while he was doing a beautiful portrait of his model. He taught us about the Elements of Design, the Principles of Design, and most importantly, by example. He is extremely talented, and humble. It was a pleasure to attend his lecture and demonstration. Thank you, Ken Goldman!

Minnie Valero: AU LAPIN AGILE, watercolor

Minnie Valero: AU LAPIN AGILE, watercolor: Au Lapin Agile , 7x9 in. watercolor, in exhibition now at Petrini's Restaurant , Ash and India streets, Little Italy, San Diego, Calif...

AU LAPIN AGILE, watercolor

Au Lapin Agile, 7x9 in. watercolor, in exhibition now at Petrini's Restaurant, Ash and India streets, Little Italy, San Diego, California. I've been exhibiting my paintings at Petrini's Restaurant since March 2006, when David Petrini opened its doors for the first time. I usually change the show twice a year, a shorter winter/holiday season exhibition, and a longer spring/summer/autumn exhibition.  Come to Petrini's for the art, and come for the food, delicious italian cooking by the Master Chef, David himself!

Au Lapin Agile is the famous bar-cabaret where the intellectuals, artists, writers, used to meet at the beginning of the 20th. C.  Paris. Coming down from Montmartre, this is the lovely view.

ALONG THE ROADS OF FRANCE, watercolor

Along the Roads of France, 4x6 watercolor, framed, in exhibition at La Jolla Art Gallery, La Jolla, California. Artists Reception on Saturday, November 16, 5-7pm. Hope to see you there!

While I was in Paris a couple of weeks ago, I visited one of my favorite museums: Musée du Quai Branly, and saw the KANAK exhibition. The Kanak culture is based on oral language. Their myths evoke the times when the Word was able to create. To give a name to something was to give it life. It is a fantastic exhibition, I strongly recommend to visit it with plenty of time to read and absorb the spirituality of the Kanak culture. Their people live in New Caledonia, in the South Pacific.

LOVING COUPLE, watercolor

LOVING COUPLE, watercolor, 9x12 in, La Jolla Art Gallery exhibition. Artists' Reception Saturday, November 16th, 5:00-7:00pm. La Jolla, California.

Kandinsky said: "...Manet started it all when he began to remove pictorial detail in his paintings such as "The Absinthe Drinker" (1858). Each generation of artists that followed removed more and more visual information from their paintings. When Kandinsky saw Monet's haystack's series in Moscow in 1896, he was so impressed, he left his job as lecturer at Moscow's University of Law, and went to Germany to study art.

DEJA VUE, acrylic

Déjà Vue, acrylic, 16x12 in, at Art Cuestion, Spain
At this moment, you can see several of my paintings with Art Cuestion in Ourense, Spain,  at Arte Studio Ginestrelle in Assisi,  Italy, at Ricklundgården Museum in Saxnãs, Sweden, and in two places in Cauterets, France: la Mairie de Cauterets (City Hall), and Agence Immobiliere Bordenave. At this moment, you can also see my work in San Diego, California, at the following places: La Jolla Art Gallery, in La Jolla, California, Petrini's Restaurant in San Diego, California, Women's Museum in Liberty Station, San Diego, California, and  San Diego Art Institute, Museum of the Living Artist,  in Balboa Park, San Diego, California.
You are invited to the upcoming reception at La Jolla Art Gallery on Saturday, November 16, 5:00-7:00 pm. Come on over! It's a beautiful little gallery!

AFTER THE RAIN, watercolor

AFTER THE RAIN, watercolor, 16x10, at Art Cuestion Artists Agency, Ourense, Spain.

I recently finished reading Marian Keyes' The Mystery of Mercy Close. Helen Walsh doesn't believe in love, fear, depression or hot drinks...she's a Private Investigator, and by the end of the book, she's been scared, fallen in love, checked herself in a psychiatric hospital due to depression and suicidal tendencies, and even served hot drinks to guests at home. Fun, witty, interesting, but too stretched out and repetitive in my opinion. It could have been the same story, and better, if shorter.

PARIS MAP UNDER BALBOA PARK, mixed media

Paris Map Under Balboa Park, 23x16 in, is a mixed media piece I painted a couple of years ago. I used a map of Paris as support, and painted a Balboa Park, in San Diego scene, making sure some areas of the map showed. It is an interesting piece, framed, in exhibition and for sale at the San Diego Art Institute,  Museum of the Living Artist, in Balboa Park, San Diego, California. This exhibition opens from November 18-December 8. Reception is on Saturday, November 23, 6:00-8:00 pm. Come all, come early!! Paintings are bought off the wall, and they sell fast!!

DESNUDA, DE ESPALDAS, watercolor

Desnuda, de Espaldas, 13x10 in. watercolor, available
This painting and several others will be in exhibition and for sale at the San Diego Art Institute, Museum of the Living Artist C-NOTE EVENT,  Balboa Park, California, from November 22nd to December 8th. Reception on Saturday, November 23rd, 6:00-8:00pm. Come early!!!! Since all the paintings in this event have a fixed price of $100 or $200 or $300, they sell fast. You literally take the painting you like off the wall and walk to the check out tables. It is a very popular event, where artists  "clean up" their storage bins, and customers walk out with a favorite painting or two. First come, first served.

HOMME A VELO, inkwash alla prima, plein air

Homme à Velo, 7x7,  5 minute inkwash, alla prima, plein air, sitting at a coffee shop in Paris watching and sketching people passing by.

I recently read in the International Artist magazine, the following comment by John McCartin, an artist from Australia:
"My personal idea of success is to be in a position where I can fully develop my craft without having to spend large amounts of time doing other things. To come close to reaching my full potential as an artist while encouraging and inspiring other artists along the way."
I like this, I feel it also represents me, in a way.

PARIS, ALESIA CAFE, ink and watercolor

PARIS, ALESIA CAFE, 7x7,  ink and watercolor

I was just sitting there sketching away. When the woman noticed I was drawing her, she smiled.

"Learning is not attained by chance; it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence." -              ------- Abigail Adams

"All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous, unpremeditated act without benefit of experience."
                                                                 ------------Henry Miller (1891-1980)

GAUMONT, ALESIA, PARIS, inkwash

Gaumont, Alésia, Paris, inkwash 7x7 in.
Sitting at the corner cafe, Metro Alésia , having a cup of coffee in the morning, while watching people go by and sketching. That is the life in Paris!!!

One day last week I went to the Pinacothèque de Paris. The exhibition of Chu Teh-Chun, "Les Chemins de l'Abstraction", is magnificent! Chu Teh-Chun has lived in Paris for over 25 years. He says that it's all a matter of energy, the capacity of showing with a unique brushstroke that painting and poetry are one. He says he was impressed by reading Kandinsky: "Abstract art, far from being separated from nature, is more intimately closer to nature than art has ever been."

PONT DES INVALIDES, PARIS, inkwash

Pont des Invalides, Paris, inkwash 7x7"
Quick sketch standing on the side of the Seine near le Pont des Invalides. I love to make quick sketches directly with ink, in this case a very thin pen in sepia color, and afterwards I add a little color to the sketch. 5 minutes to do the sketch, 5 minutes to add a bit of color. It's a great exercise to "keep the hand warm" as Sorolla used to say and do.

Go ahead! Draw, sketch, paint and enjoy!