ABOUT
MARIA QUEZADA
Maria’s profound love
and appreciation for art, which began in her early childhood, has
remained a constant and vital part of her life in both its study
and practice.
Maria began to develop her artistic skills studying graphic design
in order to work in the business, but fine arts was always her passion.
Over the years she studied at the George Mason University, the Maryland
School of Art and Design, Montgomery College, the Art League in
Alexandria, VA, and finally specializing in fine art painting at
the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, DC, during
which she successfully completed the Certificate Program in Drawing
and Painting.
Maria has always had a great admiration for the tradition of realism
in art as captivated by the Old Masters, as well as a fascination
with the sensitivity of colors as used by impressionistic artists.
Her true passion, however, is tied with the expression of the human
figure in portraits. Maria has said, “I love the different
tonality of colors that can be seen on human skin. There is a richness
that is available to us if we know how to see it and then interpret
it on the canvas. Of course, certain things can only be perceived
from a live model. A live model adds greater depth and insight
into their personality, and broadens the ability to paint his or
her soul. Discovering and recreating that for me is the true pleasure.
” When models are not available, however, Maria has also worked
remarkably well from good-reference photographs.
Her paintings have been included in several group exhibitions at
the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, DC. During
the 2001 exhibit, her painting titled “Virgin and Angels”
was featured in the Cultural Section of “El Tiempo
Latino,” a Spanish-language newspaper based in DC. In
the 2007 exhibit, her painting “Sandra,” was awarded
first place.
In 2004, Maria was a chosen artist for the “Pandamania”
art project sponsored by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
Her work was titled “Panda of Day and Night” and was
featured in the May 6, 2004 issue of “El Pregonero,”
a Washington, DC Spanish-language newspaper, as well as in “Chasqui,”
an internal IDB bilingual newsletter. Later that year, the
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities published a book featuring
the Pandamania project in which Maria´s panda is pictured.
In 2005, Maria was invited to participate in the “Faces of
the Fallen,” an art project aimed at honoring the many American
service men and women who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq. Maria
painted an individual 8 x 6 portrait, which appeared as part of
the exhibit from March to September 2005 located at the Women´s
Memorial, which is in the Ceremonial Entrance to Arlington National
Cemetery. Among all other commissions she has painted, the
one she received to paint a portrait of A1C Raymond Losano, 24,
from Del Rio, TX, who died in Afghanistan in 2003 was very special.
This was a different experience for her and she felt blessed to
have been able to pay tribute to one of these heroes and bring a
little comfort to his family.
Some of her paintings have also appeared at different occasions
in the Art League Gallery in Alexandria, VA, at the Glen Echo
Art Show in Bethesda, MD, at the Art Exhibition in Alexandria
City Hall, VA and at the Green Spring Art Show in Alexandria, VA.
She is a member of the Portrait Society of America and of the Oil
Painters of America (OPA). She currently paints from her home studio
and at the Art League in Alexandria, VA.
|
