Solitude and Pele's Passion by Lisa Ruiz

I would like you to meet Lisa Ruiz, a magnificently creative and enthusiastic artist!

In the artist's own words:
"I have selected the 2 pieces from the most recent show (Solitude and pele's Passion.) They are the tapestry style wall hangings that I have been working on. I have been searching for a new way to express myself in paint. Over the last 4 years I have been creating a lot of pastel work on richly colored pastel paper or on died watercolor paper. I have enjoyed working this way during the school year because the immediacy lends itself well to the shorter blocks of time that I get to spend in the studio. I have been missing my brushes and the freedom of working on a large scale so after seeing the tapestries at the Getty Center I came home and threw some raw canvas on the lawn over a tarp an experimented with several shades of blue die. My goal was to create the look of my died watercolors on the canvas. After several hours of fun my appendages were the color of a blueberry, but I had an incredible backdrop on which to superimpose another goddess image. This goddess evokes the feeling of quiet and reflective solitude that I long for when my life is chaotic.

In the painting Pele's Passion I decided to challenege myself to work with a warm pallette. I tend to lean toward the cooler end of the spectrum so I thought I should try reds for a change. I enjoyed working on this piece and I was truly inspired by the Hawaiin folklore of the Goddess of the Volcanoe."