TOOFLY NYC

The new year brings a fresh and new start. It was time to get to work! I have been in construction mode for 1/2 the year on the 2FL art studio and I couldn’t wait any longer to get started on my large canvas works. I set up shop on the 1st floor and began to work. SKY is one of my favorite inks from the Love Warrior series a project I have been working on ever since i moved out of the US and back in to my native land of Ecuador. It is now year 6 living here and I could not be happier. I have had nothing but good fortune on an array of things in life since I moved out of NY. Happy and thankful I took the dive. Unsure when this series will come to an end I feel like its still growing and has much to day. Inspired by TRUE LOVE.

What’s up world! I’ve been in a great mood lately. I have a ton of fresh new ideas for the year to come. Preparing as we speak for the fall and planting seeds for 2017. Living the artist dream and never going back to anything else. Moving from city life has given me the greatest gift ((( TIME )))  Time to create at my own peaceful pace, work on projects I enjoy, as well as travel and paint. I wake up every morning giving thanks for days like today. Full of optimism! — don’t get me wrong I have my bad days too. They suck super bad! it’s usually a funk that life throws at you when your not aligned. Getting off balance has many factors, but if you can curve it and get back on track your good. Some give up. Not me. My momma worked to hard in life, and I will never lose hope. If your doing what you love, the fruits of your labor will provide all you need in life. It helps to have love in your life folks. Love of self, love of others, love of love to love and love more. The secret to a life worth living…

“Native Soul” One of my first sketch/ink drawings that set off the “Love Warrior” series…

The original ink drawing was damaged by my ice tray ( bad habit ) but I scanned and cleaned it up in photoshop to save the digital image.

I made a 16″X 16″ black & white giclee print that many loved and went on to become a limited line of totes at the pop-up shops held in summer and Holiday. The print is available on the shop ( limited QTY ) —> www.tooflynyc.com/shop $100.00US – ships worldwide.

Because April is a super rainy month in Ecuador, I decided it was the perfect time to start painting! I can’t go outside my patio much to soak up some sunshine and care for my garden. I’m indoors with music, paint, and an array of illustrations that are ready to bloom. Construction of my art studio is on hold for now so I set up a little corner in my office to rock. I can’t wait to have a whole floor dedicated to my paintings! I get excited when I think about it. When it’s ready I will go BIG YEO! Until then Native Soul, and the entire LOVE WARRIOR series will take form day by day. Will this become a print by June’s “Love Warrior Art Print Exhibit ” at my Plastic Heart ??? not sure…follow IG! and save the date JUNE 24th NYC!!!

Follow the process on IG: @TOOFLY_NYC

The Toofly “Free Spirit” Sweatshirt released this past Holiday season was a hit! Unfortunately they SOLD OUT at the Toofly Holiday Pop-up Shop this past December. We are preparing a whole new batch for the Spring. Don’t miss it! If your in Brooklyn you can cop the last few that are left at FRESTHETIC. $47.00

“Free Spirit” is a very special illustration. I started it in during the construction of my first home. Everything I had built up to that point came together. The “Love Warrior” journey was complete. I decided at this point that all my illustrations from the past 4 years would become full color large paintings and so I began the process.

Once it was finished I began with the ink version as a black & white print. “Free Spirit” 16″X16″ giclee print coming soon! www.tooflynyc.com/shop

Once the ink version was complete I moved on to canvas. Studio sessions are a lovely way to reconnect with spirit. Your alone, and your breathing takes on a different pace. Your mind escapes and time no longer exists.

“Free Spirit” and many new paintings are at work for a solo exhibition. Follow the process on my instagram page ( @TOOFLY_NYC)  and facebook page ( /TOOFLY )  for the latest news.

It’s that time again! Me time, studio time:) Spring will be here in no time gotta enjoy these cold winter months and cozy up with my favorite tunes and pens.

Finally got around to finish one of my latest canvas works entitled “FREEDOM DREAMER” The process started a couple of months ago, but with all the traveling I had to do in NY  for spring and summer it had to put it on hold. There is nothing more I hate then to start a painting, and not finish it in a few days. It takes a long time to get back into the work. I have to slowly find my way back in, and grab hold of the flow I originally had when I started. It’s painstaking, but I did it. ((( Relieved )))  LOVE: the one true source of inspiration, and motivation…

FREEDOM DREAMER, 2013. Acrylic and Spraypaint on Canvas 19.75″ X 27.5″ – For inquiries contact: info@tooflynyc.com

Back in the studio, and enjoying my morning ritual. I’m up at the crack of dawn to face my sketchbook and pour out my heart. I’ve been sketching quite a bit in the last year 1/2. The pencil drawings are my favorite because they allow me to use shades and tones to focus in on the emotions of the piece. I recently started using my ink pens again, which helps to “finalize” the work. The graphic lines are great for sharpening the illustration, and possibly adding color. Which means a possible new wall pieces? print series? canvas works? or T-designs? dunno yet…for now I am having fun on paper. I am inspired, and in love again which is all that matters right now…

Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray – Rumi

Freedom Dreamer in the works…

I’m finally all settled from my travels, and wrapping up the last of my 2012 projects. As I slowly mellow back into my mountain life in Ecuador my heart catches up with my thoughts at last. So I begin to draw and feel it out. My analytical mind begins to process everything from beginning to end. It’s been almost a year that I have been away from all that I love, with no set plans of return. There’s so much I have yet to explore! An overwhelming energy to create and love wholeheartedly like never ever before has come over me like the waves in a vast blue ocean. Escaping the box is one of the best things I ever did to get closer to what my spirit truly yearns for. The all inclusiveness of nature; freedom, love, and creation. Everywhere I go now I will find myself connecting with Venus – Diosa Del Amor. I may not be able to physically be in all the places I want to be, but my heart is there and I will always return as it has many times before…

Shortly after posting sketch I received a commission to paint it:) Here’s the process…

Venus, Diosa de Amor 2013
Acrylic and spray paint on canvas
16″X20″

I just got the green light and sketch approval for the Mamas of Color Rising mural happening in Austin, Texas. I’m super excited to work on this piece…

Something about the fall season trickling in, turning on my office lamp in the evening and sketching feels hella good. I love to sharpen my pencils, flip to a white fresh page on my sketchbook, and click on my mellow tunes track. My best work is done when I am alone. In touch with my own feelings, thoughts, and ideas. I am calm. In tune with the universe. Some pretty dope stuff pours out of me in these moments of reflection. Abstract at times, but when I look back at them they are right on point with my spirit requests. Looking into getting these new illustrations on a canvas, or a wall soon. Stay tuned…

“Soledad”

Being solitary is being alone well: being alone luxuriously immersed in doings of your own choice, aware of the fullness of your own presence rather than of the absence of others. Because solitude is an achievement.  – Alice Koller

“Guard your Heart. Guard your Soul”

Finito! I finally finished my latest acrylic work on wood. I love the handmade wood frame our family craftsman created, gracias Maestro! The soft and natural frame adds to the serene feel of the piece. Hoping she makes it in one piece to the Few & Far exhibition June 8th in Seattle ( flyer below). Artwork transport from Ecuador to the states is tricky, wish me luck! If your interested in the piece shoot me an e-mail at: tooflynyc@gmail.com

Transcendence. Acrylic on wood. 21″X 17.5″(framed)

FEW & FAR Female Art Exhibition
June 8th-July 3rd// 6-10PM
BHERD Urban Contemporary Art Gallery
8537 Greenwood Avenue N. Suite#1 // Seattle, WA 98103

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OMG is it May already? I finally got some wood to paint on! I didn’t think it would be so tough to find art materials in my homeland. I’ve been on the hunt for canvas for weeks with no luck. Cardboard is not as easy to find on the corner streets, piled up daily to trash as it is in NY. People do not consume the unnecessary here, and all that packaging is iliminated by using recycled bins to move product into stores, or when you shop you bring your canasta! I’ve had to come to terms that I will not get as lucky with carboard pieces, or canvas here to create my new works. There is NO art store like Blick or a Pearl Paint to get what I want. In retrospective, I don’t really need. Living in the states makes you so damn spoiled to have everything at your finger tips. Then I remember why the world is in such a mess. I hit up my cousins wood shop got a bunch of wood pieces he had laying around and called it a day. Whew! I can finally get started on my new works…

Almost there…

Our “maestro” aka family wood craftsman made a handmade wood frame for my piece today, I love it! So natural. I’m gonna frame all my pieces for this series this way…