Maria Isabel Rodriguez

Teenage years can be complicated right? As for me, I remember them as painful memories of living in a conflicted and unstable home, as an escape, I decided to get married at 16, and by the time I was 19, I already had two beautiful children. My mother decided to leave my father and come to Canada from Guatemala, and that shook my world. I decided to follow her just a year later. Adapting to a new country, culture, and language was exciting and challenging at the same time. Suffering is an inextricable part of life that paradoxically coexists with happiness as dialectical oppositions. Mental health within my family gave me a new reality and perspective on how I see life, creating art has been as far as I remember, a safe space within myself where I can feel free and liberated. Art has the power to heal my spirit, and a refuge to my adversities, my resting place. My paintings from my female point of view, serve as an analogy to the duality of womanhood – gentle yet resilient, fragile yet fierce. Guided by intuition and nostalgia, my floral paintings are infused with vibrant hues that echo the landscapes of my homeland, they can be serine yet chaotic. I enjoy creating and expressing with freedom without any references, painting each composition with new fresh eyes. Studying past artists such as Van Gogh, Monet and Cezanne has influenced my work. Flowers in their essence are resilient, adaptable, and strong. They possess the powerful ability to change our moods and express beauty. Through my art and life experience, I aim to spark joy for life and love, inspire contemplation, provoke conversation, and celebrate the diverse tapestry of human existence. We can find joy amid suffering!