Today we’d like to introduce you to Beatriz Ramos-Rivera Maliszewski.
Hi Beatriz, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Since I was a little girl, I knew that I wanted to be a painter. After three years of art school in my home country, Spain, I got married and m0ved to the United States.
With the help of my husband, I was able to continue my studies at the prestigious Corcoran School of Art.
On graduating, I embarked in what I though was going to be a life dedicated to painting and raising my family.
However, my eldest child became ill with a brain tumor at age 5, changed my plans. Time for painting became scarce for years.
While attending to my son’s special needs and raising a family of family children, I was able, though, to help other families advocate for their children with special needs as a parent advocate and keeping my love for art as an art teacher.
As my children became more independent, I returned to building my career as a painter.
Now and for the last few years, I am fully engaged as a painter art teacher.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Moving from my home country opened my horizons significantly. I was introduced to the rich past and current North American art movements and leaders. However, I lost my support system.
Transitioning from being a mother and homemaker to a painter required many changes. Friendships were strained by those that could not accept or appreciate where I was now spending my energies and time. Also, it took time to get many to accept that I truly was a painter rather than someone with a passing or hobbyist interest in painting/
As I sought to move beyond teaching art to promoting and selling my work, I was stretched. I was not taught nor had an early interest for the business side of being an artist, but have had to learn about marketing, using social media and networking for that, and otherwise managing the money side of my calling.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
On one hand, my artistic path reflects the time and circumstances in which I have lived, a mobile society marked by the coming together of diverse perspectives and cultures. On the other hand, it uniquely couples this with the exaltation of the intimate, the quiet, the well-timed, and the peace of my Spanish artistic and spiritual roots. I offer viewers freeze-frame glimpses into my everyday life. Inspiration is everywhere – ranging from something as exhilarating as a sailboat regatta to something as unassuming as a pomegranate. I paint what I see and paint to tell a story of what I find visually appealing: the compositional harmony of a flower arrangement; the spatial tension created by light passing through a window; conversations between colors; the influence of contrast and shadow play. Though subject matter is significant, it is but a minor actor in the overall play. The goal is not a concern with anecdote, but rather with the pictorial fact, with visuality. There is no take-away narrative – the subject’s movement is muted; their expressions are frozen in time. What is critical is the pictorial transcendence of the scene: the way it is illuminated in light, the natural geometry of each figure, and how the composition comes together to direct the eye.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Covid-19 inspired me to use my painting to celebrate our expression and communications with others. In particular, it propelled me to create a series called SEEING AND BEING SEEN (https://www.ramos-rivera.com/seeing-and-being-seen/)
This latest collection is a continuation of my longtime practice of painting the beauty of everyday life. Only now my paintings capture spontaneous encounters. As the viewer of these works, we are invited to witness the spectacle of a street procession, candid moments in a bullring, bakers selling pastries, and other extremely absorbing scenes. These paintings are vivacious in attitude, colorfully executed, and rendered in grand dimensions from provocative angles that practically make you feel like you are actually there. But it is important to note that I am not just painting life but posed portraits of subjects that acknowledge, if not welcome, the spectatorship and exposure that comes from being put on display. It is this awareness of “seeing and being seen” that makes this collection especially playful and a particularly interesting departure from my typical focus of intimate and quiet spaces.
Contact Info:
- Email: beatriz@ramos-rivera.com
- Website: www.ramos-rivera.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beatrizrrart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beatrizrrart/
