Life

Humor is so Venezuelan

One thing I didn’t recognize in me as being Venezuelan, even after more than 18 years of being away from my home country, is humor. I didn’t recognize it until shortly. After seeing all these years of artwork as well as the posts and texts in my website, I discovered humor is one of the binding forces in my life.

Humor is so Venezuelan. We laugh about ourselves, about life, bad luck… pretty much about everything.

“Al mal tiempo buena cara” (put a good face in bad times) is something you learn as a child and “Reír para no llorar” (laugh so you don’t cry) sounds a bit like “fake it ‘till you make it”. I guess it’s our way of being optimistic or bringing about happiness out of thin air. We just smile.

I tried and tried to add seriousness to my style, to the way I do things, I even wrote my statement in the third person like many artists do, but that just isn’t me. Besides, all of my drawings start with a guessing game, there’s a playfulness to every piece I make.

Authenticity is important for me. And I am so Venezuelan, I’ll just go on laughing at myself, my work and my world.

*If you’re interested in purchasing a piece from the 100 Urban Faces series, please contact me at art@atamayka.com

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The weird artist – featuring Angry Sally

In times where most of what you see gives you the feeling of „been there, done that“ and taking into consideration the actual state of affairs on this planet: nowadays, finding humor in things is not such an easy task.

Humor, for me, comes out naturally. It’s part of my Venezuelan upbringing, we make jokes and laugh about absolutely everything. Even in the darkest of situations – like the actual political, economical and social disaster in my country – my people will laugh and joke about it, too.

My art pieces always have that quirky and playful component,
here in Austria you say “ein bisschen Humor muss sein”
(there has to be at least a bit of humor).

I think humor is vital for all of us!

The absolute start of a painting or drawing is, in my case, serendipitous and the development of it takes a life of its own. Staying true to your line, even when you are bombarded 24/7 with images that could influence an outcome or being tempted to do what is trending, is what I do. Trends are not my thing.

Daring to be playful, portraying the weird and quirky is what I do.

Oh, by the way. Why do you think she’s so angry?
Maybe someone took her cab.

The 100 Urban Faces series of wall sculptures are available. For details, please contact me at art@atamayka.com

Merken

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One sentence stories:
„… and so finally, he took the fish.“

My cousin will move from Turin-Italy to China at the beginning of 2017. It has gotten me thinking about the early stage in which you move to a new country.

My home country is Venezuela, but i‘ve had to adapt to the U.S.A., Spain and Austria. You have to not only understand a new language, but you also have to learn how to interpret a whole new set of body language signs.

Like when some cultures nod, in what we western people would understand a yes, to mean no.

Our intimate moments, deep within our heads, translate into mimics. These gestures are conditioned by cultural and social learning. And they are also read according to our cultural and social backgrounds.

For example, how many interpretations of the face above would we find?

Tiredness of living
Sadness (maybe because my cousin is leaving Europe 😉 )
Dissapointment
Trying to listen to what someone is saying in the background
Making a decision

I wonder what this face would suggest in Asia or Africa…
Are our cultures so different that we might interpret something totally different?

In my case, I was looking at this when I was drawing him…

So, this is my one sentence story:
„and so, he took the fish“

+ (Note: For inquiries, please contact me at art@atamayka.com) +

Merken

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Stories behind the 100 Urban Faces:
I‘m outta Love

It‘s an incredible feeling to be like an alchemist. The wonders that can come out of your working hands with the use of something so simple as clay – technically just earth – and water. For me it’s not only the appearance of faces, but more about the emotions portrayed. Emotions we all recognize and have felt.

This piece I started by drawing random lines made with my eyes closed which I then transferred to clay. And although not all faces look like someone I know, this one reminded me of someone.
As I finished her I thought it looked so much like Anastacia, the singer of „I‘m outta Love“, remember her? The way she moves her lips and looks a bit angry, just like in her video.

Serendipity was again the origin of this face and of all the faces I‘ve made in clay for the 100 Urban Faces series. More information here.

+ (Note: The 100 Urban Faces series of wall sculptures are available. For details, please contact me at art@atamayka.com) +

Merken

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While she was sleeping

No, this post is not about Sandra Bullock’s film “While you were sleeping”. I guess most of you don‘t know that I make my Daily Drawings while she is sleeping. „She“ is Mathilda, my 8 month old daughter. Since she started sitting, she developed a love for staying put peacefully besides me while I draw.
Lucky me! We sing along to music and it gives me enough time to finish some pieces.

If you see my drawings from August to October and compare them to the ones I make now, you will see they have gained color and complexity.
These are the wonders of having more time!

Here in Austria you get up to a two-year leave after pregnancy. So, I made a deal with myself. During this time I will make my daily drawings, on a napkin if I have to, whether I’m ill or haven’t slept in three days.
These drawings keep me sane and make me feel alive, even if like today, I would rather be in bed.

All my Daily Drawings are available. If you’re interested, please contact me per email at art*at*atamayka.com. Thanks for reading!

Merken

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The About Page

I guess I’ll have to start going public and let everyone know I’m online.
It’s kind of scary to put yourself out there. Not that social media doesn’t do it for you anyway. I’ve been avoiding it, but I will just jump right into it. NOW.

By the way, since spam has been a problem for a while, I decided to eliminate my email address. If you want to contact me without the form, here’s my email (a bit disguised): art *!at* atamayka.com

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Preview

I’ve spent long afternoons and nights coding atamayka.com and this blog, trying to get them to look like I want them to. Here’s a preview of my portfolio site. Languages are a blessing to do, thank God for wordpress!

You see, my family speak Spanish, most of the web speaks English, and I live in Austria where most of my friends speak German. That’s why my portfolio is in three languages, so that nobody feels left out.

Writing a blog is a completely different situation. One is supposed to update often, and I don’t see myself writing in all three languages that often. So, sorry folks and friends, English it is.
Disculpen! / Entschuldigung!

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Hello world!

Hi everybody!
I now start long-hour-sessions in order to get Drawing Serendipities going. I thought I’d give you a peek at my desk to begin with. This is the messy but very cozy place I write from. Here I dream, plan and execute everything from art to grocery lists.

You can see my “to do” list at the bottom, together with currant juice, a shot of Bailey’s, some jewelry I’ve been working on, and the usual paper stack that awaits to be sorted out.
Thanks for stopping by.

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