Words By Abigail Vela
On Thursday, August 18, 2022, people entered an opening gallery celebration at Bohemian Place. Everyone maneuvered through each other to observe each and every single artwork displayed by two local artists, Face to Face Art and Pudgy Pigeons. Both artists’ work complements each other well, showing colorful and unique pieces with their own individual styles.
“These paintings were made in 2018. I had done a group show with a friend. My process creating these was a multitasking one. I started researching all the pigeon breeds, then drew them all, blocked all the backgrounds, and slowly painted each bird.” Mariela Gonzalez’s exhibition features pigeons that are lovingly created with unique features, such as the Domino Frill Pigeon, a sweet-looking black and white pigeon with a coy look in its eyes. The bold green background makes the small little accents in its feathers, details on its feet, and little orange eyes pop. The Stargard Shaker Pigeon’s mustard yellow feathers and long neck are accentuated against a soft pink background, which makes the Stargard seem like an elegant and gentle bird. The contrast between the birds and their background colors gives each of them a unique personality.
Sandro Alberto Galicia Toledo is the artist behind Face To Face Art. His work at Bohemian Place was done over the last two years. Sandro shared his process, “I usually sketch until I’m happy with at least one of the sketches. Then I move it onto procreate and mess with how bold I want the lines and which colors I want… I print it out and enlarge it onto the canvas using an EZ tracer… and begin to add the paint and finish with the black lines.” His work, Vermin Catcher, features a wildly happy cowboy frog riding a horse on the hunt for flies. Its fellow vermin catcher is a spider with a skeleton body attached to a circle of a fly crossed out in red. Lattes and Steam Pitchers shows a great example of his bold and playful style, which presents both latte art and pitchers from above in contrasting colors and thick lines. The red and blue pitchers look like little smiling faces looking around in different directions.
When asked about how she feels about the exhibition, Mariela shared, “It feels really gratifying to exhibit these paintings again and have them receive love from the public again. This is not my first exhibition, but it always feels like a first. I enjoy meeting people and working with amazing businesses and people like at Bohemian Place.” Sandro adds to the experience of having his work alongside Mariela’s, “It feels unreal. Seeing it for months at home and then it being in a gallery is insane to me. Especially when your work is right next to another great friend and artist. I’m very thankful for them letting me invade their space with my critters.”
Both artists’ beautiful, unique, and colorful works of art are on display at Bohemian Place until this Sunday, September 18. So be sure to take some time out of your week to visit the gallery and take home art by Face To Face Art and Pudgy Pigeons!
El RGV es el hogar de una de las mayores poblaciones de animales callejeros del país, lo que supone una gran presión para los servicios de rescate y acogida que ayudan a encontrar un hogar para estos animales. Con recursos limitados de los gobiernos locales pero un fuerte apoyo de la comunidad, estas organizaciones logran luchar a diario por estos animales.
National Hispanic Heritage Month offers an opportunity to rekindle your cultural ties. Learn ways to rediscover your heritage through media, music, and the community in the 956.
Discover Rio Grande City by riding the Bessie III Trolley and explore the historic sights in downtown!
