ALICE MERRILL COLLECTION: DOS CASAS

“Dos Casas” (aka the story of my life) was purchased by the Alice Merrill Horne Acquisition Committee (Utah’s state owned art collection) and will be added to this 123 year old collection. I still can’t believe it!! This collection was started in 1899 by Utah's second woman Legislator to build a collection of the best of Utah's artists. Needless to say I am beyond excited and grateful for this amazing opportunity. This is my second painting to be part of a museum permanent collection, this specific purchase from the state of Utah where I currently reside and have made my “artist home” hits home all the way.

Dos Casas by Elizabeth Sánchez Art. All Rights Reserved

I TURN MY BACK TO GRIEF

My father taught me how to swim. He would worried my sister and I would get tired so he made sure we knew how to turn on our backs to rest because he knew the best way to take air in the water is when you are on your back. After my father died I kept thinking about this painting, I had made plans to retrieve it from the consignment store and the day I arrived home the first letter I open was a check with the tittle “Head above the water” I have never plan for specific meanings in my paintings they just come in and out of my hands and mind. I think they are born of the stories I carried with me... some stories I know by heart and others I carried like heavy books hoping I will get to them one day. Some days I try to make an inventory of what I am carrying and others I just turned on my back to breathe.

Image from Elizabeth Sanchez Art. All rights reserved.

DREAM CATCHER

“Dream Catcher” Although at this point I feel like I am hauling my dreams (LOL). Once my mother shared a childhood-unrealized dream with me, she probably doesn’t remembered the occasion but in that moment she helped me understand that the dreams that are worth catching are those that tent to linger like clouds in our mind, reluctantly waking us up in the middle of the night.

Image from Elizabeth Sanchez Art. All rights reserved.

A TALE OF HOPE

Since I was little my favorite story was Little Red Riding Hood. My dad used to tell us the story by heart and I love it just as much as looking at the illustrations in the book. My eyes detailing every single color and shape. 

In this particular tale the moral and practical applications of the story was very obvious even for a toddler, but for me the underlying story was what made this story so powerful. 

The more I listened the more I was convinced its worth to walk alone in  the woods for a good cause or sometimes even for sense of adventure and autonomy, despite the encounter with a wolf I will still be kind to strangers and hope the best from people because if something my kid- brain was conditioned from the story was to believe there’s ALWAYS HOPE even if it feels like it’s the end of the story and you are being swallowed whole. There’s hope.

Even if you find yourself in the darkness of the stomach of a BEAST you do not lose HOPE.

Wherever you are in your story, be patient because your tale has a happy ending. As big as a whale or as fierce as a wolf, don’t lose heart! You got this! 

Image from Elizabeth Sanchez Art. All Rights Reserved

MARY WITH CHILD JESUS

ABOUT THE PAINTING:
Luke 2:19 “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” As a mother I had experience meaningful connections with my children, even before they were born and as a matter of fact even before they were conceived. All of these prophetic thoughts and moments I had kept quietly in a sacred way. My own divine treasure from where I often draw strength. I stand in awe at Mary’s assignment to be the mother of the Lord. I wanted the viewer to look into a mother’s eyes, Mary. The tenderness of her baby, even the Lord Jesus Christ depending on His mother for substance, care and security.

ABOUT THE PROCESS:

I grew up in a small town of Chihuahua, Mexico, growing up I was mainly exposed to religious/catholic art. I have sweet memories of my dad and I walking in the dark basements of cathedrals to look at paintings of Mary and Jesus. After finishing this painting , I noticed the whole process was a compromise between my style and my subconscious and very ingrained ideas of religious art, perhaps that’s what I have been staying away from it all this time, I am grateful for an art community who embraces so many different styles and ideas of what religious and spiritual art looks like it has made me more acceptable of my own art and conflicted aesthetic beliefs.

MADE OUT OF PEOPLE

“Made out of People” by Elizabeth Sanchez. Oil on Panel. All Rights Reserved

Since a young age I learned I was made out of people. My ears aren't mine, they are great grandma’s ears. I have my dad’s eyes and nose, tia Libradas’ hips, mom’s legs, grandpa Matias thumb… sometimes it's hard to tell if they are living in me or I am living off them, if I am part of it all, or is it all part of us.

Pirated-”24” x 36”

“Pirated” by Elizabeth Sanchez. Oil on Panel.

My second great grandfather had one of those Arabian last names, those names that start with 'Al' and have a sound you keep in your tongue after you send it away. One night a casual conversation with grandma told the truth about our so thought exotic last name, which wasn't even mine to "wear" Almaraz had adopted a son, whose wasn't his, and didn't carry his blood, neither his imported color. This boy was my great grandfather. We weren't Almarz, nor exotic or aliens to that dusty land anymore. We were the same but different....What are we then? I worried ... Dad who was already in his 50’s took it humorously and cheerfully replied "we are pirates" (Almaraz pirated). That day I stop justifying my stumpy nose through outlandish ancestors, even if the boldness of it didn't even come from that side. I am a pirate!

Mental fog 24”x 36”

My mind gets cloudy, if I am not careful I could easily lose track of time, of places and people. Sometimes I forget what language I am using, words come out of my mouth sometimes freely, sometimes limping. I no longer know what word was born in the vocabulary of my childhood or in my adopted English. 

It takes minutes to correct this nonsense behavior, where I am from and where I am standing, it is silly to forget. 

“Mental Fog” by Elizabeth Sanchez. 24” x 36” Oil on Panel

“Then” -30” x 40”

“Then” by Elizabeth Sanchez. 30”x 40” Oil on Board

As long as you can go back, I tell myself…

Faces, places, and borders they all are the same, they fuse into one big pile of memories and emotions… homogenize in my mind I sort through them and separate them, I give each a home, a place, a time… I divide them into two groups “ then 1” and “then 2.”

“Then” as searching for your pocket to retrieve something feared to be lost. I go vividly in my mind to my cradle town, the main road off the freeway, the plazas and narrow streets, I turn left at the (tiendita) where I used to buy food for my cat, I pass the ugly brown house with yellow tiles, the busy street is next, in the middle is Don Jorge selling the news of the day, he recognizes me or maybe “my father in me.” Three more blocks and I am at grandma’s house, I turned the corner and there it is ...I take a deep breath... the end of the road always takes me to the beginning.

Opening Their Eyes to Divine Truths - 24” x 23”

The word cloud in the scriptures is very thought provoking. There are actually five Hebrew words used for clouds in the Bible but there are two of those words that have very interesting and prophetic meanings and appearances to me. The word that is most translated as cloud is 'anan. It's first appearance is tied to the covenant that God made with man with respect to the world never being destroyed again by a flood. The bow in the 'anan of Bere’shiyt (Genesis) 9:13-17 is the token of that covenant. The word 'anan literally means “TO OBSERVE or THAT WHICH SPEAKS OF A TIME.” Clouds are signs of the presence of God. We know that a cloud led the children of Israel through the wilderness. We are told in Daniel (Daniyy’el) 7:13 that the Messiah's coming is -to be observed with the clouds of heaven-. Luke tells us in the book of Ma’asey hashsheliyechiym (Acts) that the Messiah was taken up and a cloud received him. Luke goes on to say that Jesus‘ will return in like manner (Matthew) 25:30, 26:64) many Jewish commentaries on Daniyy’el 7:13 refer to the coming Messiah as the 'anan adam, or “THE CLOUD MAN.” The last Hebrew word translated as -cloud puts the crown-, so to speak, on the Messiah. It is the word nasiy'. This word is translated as cloud, prince, and ruler and its verbal root means “TO RISE UP or TO LIFT UP.” I have been thinking about the all too familiar expression many of us quote as scripture: We are called to be “in” the world but not “of” the world. For this painting I imagine seeing things through eyes of faith accompanied with a Divine perspective... one of us catching the vision so perfectly so clearly for others to follow ☁️ ☁️☁️ .

My Pirate Story

True story: My second great grandfather had one of those Arabian last names, those names who start with 'Al' and have a sound you keep in your tongue after you send it away. One night a casual conversation with grandma told the truth about our so thought exotic last name, which then it wasn't even mine to "wear" Almarz had adopted a son, who wasn't his, and didn't carry his blood, neither his imported color. This boy was my great grandfather. We weren't Almarz, nor exotic or aliens to that dusty land anymore. We were the same but different....What are we then? I worried ... Dad took it humorously and cheerfully replied "we are pirates" (Almarz pirated). That day I stop justifying my long nose through outlandish ancestors, even if the boldness of it didn't even come from that side. I am a pirate!!  

Understood

Places Within Me 2018

True story. Mom looked in me and saw I was an artist long before I believed it myself. When I was little one Mother’s Day I gave her a painting of blue skies, a boat, and some fishermen on a lake. Nothing profane ...but years later she told me how she had noticed I had included the reflections of the boat and clouds on the water and knew my eyes saw things very different than hers. As a teen I thought all the extra Art classes and art supplies was my mom’s way to award me for my good grades. Now I know I wasn’t being spoiled I was being understood. As a mom I keep my eyes open for clues to understand my children’s spirits, and make sure their talents and gift are being nurture. I owed it to them and my mom. 

Pursuing our passions

The story goes like this, grandma had a passion for horses since she was very little, one time trying to convince her cousin to ride on one and not being very tall to balance over a horse even with the help of a chair, she brought a horse inside the house to see if they could get on it by jumping from her mom’s (my great-grandma’s) bed... But the story gets better, one day grandma started wearing pants instead of dresses to ride horses, she was the only woman in her family (and city/town) wearing “boy clothes.” She wanted to ride horses all day like her brothers and pants just made more sense. I am sure you have a similar story of woman pioneering fundamental rights by merely pursuing their OWN passions. I believed passions emanate from the truest more authentic part of ourselves. Grandma never boasted over her achievements as a feminist or fashionista , for her: horses were horses, pants were pants and humans were humans. I like grandma, I carried her story with me. It makes me a little braver at times but over all it teaches me that it serves to every human in the world to believe in our passions with good faith. Happy International Women’s Day.