5.30.2008

Chinese Madonna Now Available for Purchase-ALL 100% Proceeds Will Go Directly From Sale to The American Red Cross China Earthquake Relief Fund.


Thank you for all the great comments on my Chinese Madonna piece. I am now selling the piece on my beenznrice etsy shop and 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the American Red Cross China Relief Fund.

Please take a look at my listing here at http://www. etsy. com/view_listing. php?listing_id=12179487

My goal is to sell 25 and raise $500. If I reach that goal I will list another 25. Help me reach that goal and spread the word of the goodness of humanity in time of crisis.



If you would like to donate directly, the link for the fund is http://american. redcross. org/site/PageServer?pagename=ntld_china_relief_fund_0508

Thank you for all your support!

Naomi of Beenznrice Art and Heavenly Skull

5.28.2008

Beenznrice featured in The Crafty Chica blog!


We are so excited to be in one of my favorite crafter's blog! Diary of a Crafty Chica is the blog of Kathy Cano-Murillo! She is famous for her colorful, day of the dead, latin style crafts---oh and GLITTER!!! Check out our presence on her blog here:
http://thecraftychica.blogspot.com/2008/05/jewelry-making-as-therapy-to-etsy-or.html

and her site (which is absolutely a treat to look at) here: http://www.craftychica.com

Enjoy!
Naomi

5.27.2008

Sketches from Big Bear and Illustration Friday Topic: Forgotten

I chose to show these for the Forgotten topic, because most of the cabins I drew looked like they had been abandoned or forgotten. Especially a couple of outhouses. Enjoy!





For Memorial Day Weekend, we stayed at a family cabin in Big Bear. I was a little worried, as I'm not fond of snow, but it was absolutely beautiful. We drove past a white winter wonderland up higher to the cabin, where there was no snow, but crisp cold air, sunshine, and green pine trees everywhere. It was my perfect setting. I woke up early to go walk for miles, and just draw interesting cabins and scenery. I hope you enjoy my sketches!

Naomi

5.23.2008

Madonna in the Chinese Earthquake


I read about an officer and mother who has a 6 month old baby in China, but breastfed as many as 9 infants during the whole disaster. She is really an inspiration and when I saw her picture, I instantly thought of the Virgin Mary. Her selfless and prompt behavior and maternal instinct really moved me to do this piece. I will be setting up an option to buy the image (in high res) with 100% of the proceeds to go to the China Relief fund at The Red Cross. More on that later. Read the article here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/22/china.breastfeed/index.html

5.22.2008

Illustration Friday Topic: Wide


An oldie but a goodie. This is the Carlos' Hell Piece. I thought of it when the topic for this week was announced, as the hell fish creature is opening his mouth really wide to try to swallow our valiant angel!

Naomi

Rancho Rosal Native Garden








This morning, I attended a brunch and show at Rancho Rosal Elementary. I got to design the sign for the Native garden. It was amazing to see how appreciative all the kids and teachers were to all of my coworkers who built it. It is absolutely beautiful and charming. It's nice to think that this will be something that will last for generations. I wish I had been able to help with the hard stuff, but am very glad I was given the opportunity to create the sign.

Naomi

5.21.2008

More Sketches from the Adolfo Camarillo Ranch House



This is one of my favorite places to be! I feel like I'm meditating when I'm there because I am usually all alone in a breathtakingly beautiful, serene setting. Enjoy the sketches!

Naomi

5.15.2008

I found a sanctuary just walking minutes away from my desk job!


So I am a freelance graphic designer for a company that has very gray cubicles and walls. I thought there was nothing but industrial buildings and landscaping all around until I realized how close the Camarillo Adolfo Ranch House was one day while walking with some coworkers. Today I speedwalked to the place after I ate and was just amazed at the beauty and serenity of it. Here is what I drew in the 20 minutes I spent there. I think I am going to start taking hour lunches again and spend majority of my time there, drawing. There are trees, flowers, the Queen Anne style house itself; there is even a Virgin de Guadalupe statue. Oh and a big red barn. Looks like my blog is going to be extra busy with sketches!

Naomi

5.13.2008

Illustration Friday Topic: Electricity



I did this very quickly at my desk at work, with a piece of scratch paper, a red pen, and a highlighter. I love it. Enjoy!

Naomi

5.09.2008

Official Press Release: Geisha Muerta Art on MTV's The Real World



Here's the text from the Press Release. Feel free to click on the image to make it full size to print out!

Geisha Muerta Artwork on MTV’s The Real World

Press Release
April 16, 2008


Southern California Illustrator Naomi Valdivia was chosen to have 3 pieces of her Geisha Muerta series (below: Geisha Muerta #1, Geisha Muerta #2, Geisha Muerta #3) featured in one of the many extravagant rooms in The Real World house, located in Hollywood, California. The room which the artwork is located in is an Asian style room, with very bold reds and blacks. Links to a picture gallery of the entire house can be found here at http://www.mtv.com/photos/?fid=1583900&view=thumb
This season of “The Real World” will mark its 20th season on air. This will also be the first season to be “Environmentally-Friendly.” The Real World has long been at the forefront of pop-culture as we know it today, which makes it even more significant that they are “going green.” The first episode of The Real World Hollywood will air Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 10:00 PM ET/PT.
Naomi’s artwork on the show will feature very graphic iconic Geishas with bold colors (black, red, violet). Within each piece, aside from the first impression of “cuteness” is the element of the “muerta” inspired by the very distinctive Mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos, or The Day of the Dead. Skulls are used in each of the 3 pieces to give an interesting mesh of imagery and also a mesh of cultures.
Naomi Valdivia is truly a Southern California artist, raised mainly in Carson, CA. She attended High School in Hollywood at the Fairfax Visual Arts Magnet on Melrose Blvd, and college at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles finishing with a BFA in Illustration. She is currently a Graphic Designer and freelance Illustrator in Camarillo, CA.
Her style is very influenced by the meshing of cultures, as she is a living, breathing mesh of cultures herself; she is half Filipino, a quarter Japanese, and a quarter Caucasian, and within those ethnicities are even more culture meshes. The style of her work is mostly digital, mixing the clean vector quality of Illustrator with the many painterly possibilities of Photoshop. Another main theme often seen in Naomi’s work is the mixing of something beautiful with something that is seen as somewhat morbid, therefore, creating its own haunting and thought provoking beauty. She is the “Rice” factor of Beenznrice, of which her husband Carlos, who is Mexican American, is the “Beenz.”

For more information or to see more of Naomi’s work:
www.beenznrice.com
www.myspace.com/beenznriceart

Contact info:
naomi@beenznrice.com

MTV Press Contact:
Anastasia Lee
Anastasia.lee@mtvstaff.com

Sketches from Jury Duty May 7

Yep, I got caught for Jury Duty. At least I was able to amuse myself by drawing for hours on end. That doesn't sound too bad now does it? I also met a very interesting man named Joe, who had lots of life experience and stories to tell. If you get to read this Joe, you totally made my day.

Enjoy the sketches!

N







Oh this last one is from when they let me escape. I went on Main St. in Ventura and noticed that the Antique Store windows were like giant still lifes! Anyone interested in making a day of it sometime?


5.08.2008

Illustration Friday Topic: Seed


Okay, I had NO time to finish this, but I kind of really liked the prelim sketch I did for it. Kind of reminded me of a ghost or LA Llorona or something. Enjoy!

N

5.01.2008

Illustration Friday Topic: Wrinkles


This coincides perfectly with a fairytale type book that I am working on. There is an evil old queen/witch whose main characteristic is her wrinkles. So I decided to illustrate it in a somewhat Grimm's Brothers sort of way. I didn't get to finish the background, but will post it once I do finish it. For now, enjoy my character drawing!

N