Amber Goldhammer

"Warm and Fuzzy Love" Abstract Colorful Graffiti Style Painting

"Luminous 8" is a framed mixed media work on canvas by Tom Bolles with abstract linear form in shades of red and yellow. The smooth gradient of saturation near the left and right edg...

"Poemes CXXXVIII" is a framed mixed media work on canvas by Raul de la Torre, with layers of contrasting abstract shapes and colors. De la Torre's signature technique of painstakingly embroidering meticulously-matched asymmetric forms over smooth layers of paint adds texture and delight to each of his pieces. This piece is finished in a silver floater frame with subtle beveling and a dark brown (nearly black) woodgrain effect along the frame’s interior and sides. Pricing includes the pictured frame. Unframed dimensions are 30 x 60 inches. Spanish artist Raul De La Torre creates vibrant abstract mixed media artworks that focus primarily on the color and the material. "Many painters create texture upon their canvases by building layer upon layer of paint; with each layer comes a greater sense of history and dimension within the work. Others using thickening agents to almost sculpt their paint, spreading it thickly upon their work’s surface for a subtle 3D effect. I have chosen a unique route to enrich my acrylic paintings with texture: embroidery. I first choose the colors I want to incorporate in the palette of the work I’m about to embark upon. To me, the colors represent people, moments or feelings. I paint with acrylic in various blocks of color interacting with one another, evolving a pattern upon the canvas. Sometimes I contain the paint within a clean border, other times I let the blocks of color drip down the canvas or paper. Next, I begin the process of embroidery. I make horizontal cuts on the canvas or paper and covers these open areas using cotton thread. This process of embroidering on canvas or paper adds both intrigue and a sense of depth to each unique work. My most recent body of works reflects a series of poems by a well known poet from Catalonia, my home country. An homage to both the poet and the creative process, my technique of embroidery is heartfelt exploration. Just as a poet builds words to form metaphor or meaning, I build texture through embroidery to form depth and character." POEMES Series The starting point and inspiration of Poèmes is a series of verses from the Catalan poet Miquel Marti i Pol - poems that reflect loss but not always sadness. The color is used as a code to represent times, places, and people left behind. Some of them are embroidered forever in our memory, turning to form part of our DNA. To represent the firmness and strength of that past, the cotton is mixed with the paint in the works to form a unity. "For the series POEMES, I have been using different poets as inspiration. The initial inspiration for the first works were poems by one of my favorite poets, Miquel Marti i Pol. Other favorites are Benjamin Fondane, Seamus Heaney...