Art Shopping

I have written a number of times about the art market that is held every Sunday at Parque Sullivan.  On my last visit there I had noticed that there were several stalls which sell artist's supplies.  Although I brought down here the tubes of acrylic paints that I use for my paintings, I was running low on a few colors.  So, last Sunday I made a return trip to the art market.

I found a stall that had a good selection of art supplies, and I bought several tubes of paint.

  

Of course, I had to wander around the market and look at the paintings displayed by the talented artists.   

I was quite tempted by this painter's pictures of the volcano "Popo", but I decided that I would not buy anything until I had gone through the entire market.

I then came to where Domingo Hernández had his works on display.

You might remember that I had previously purchased a couple of his paintings. Last November I posted this picture of the two works that I bought.  Since then, I had them framed, and they are now hanging on the wall of the guest bedroom.

I wanted two more small paintings to hang on either side of the mirror in the guest bedroom.  I figured that two more pieces by Señor Hernández would look good.  I took me a while to decide, but I finally choose these two paintings of "jimadores".

A "jimador" harvests the agave plants, and with a tool known as a "coa" he removes the leaves from the plant.  The pulpy core of the plant which is known as the "pineapple" is left behind.  That is then chopped and cooked for the production of tequila.

Right next to Domingo Hernández was another artist with whom I have spoken on almost every visit to the art market... a painter that goes by the name of Carlos del River (his real name is Carlos del Río).  I have long admired his work.  Much of it is done in paint and India ink, creating an effect that looks like stained glass.  Long before I had made the final move to Mexico, I had purchased a print of one of his paintings.  It was inspired by a Mayan carving.  In January I posted a photo of it on the blog after I finally had it framed and hung it in the hallway of my apartment.

Carlos and I had a long talk, and he was pleased to hear that I had finally made the move to Mexico City.  He and his wife posed with me for a photo.

I had noticed as I entered the art park that there were a number of works that artists had donated for "medical assistance".  I immediately recognized one with Carlos's distinctive style among them.  I asked him about it, and he said that one of the artists at the art market had recently been diagnosed with cancer.  The others have donated artwork, and the proceeds from the sales will help with her medical costs.

Before I left the park, I went over to where those donated paintings were on display.  Even though Carlos's painting was discounted by over 50%, it was still rather expensive... around $150 US.  But it was one of his original paintings, not a print, so it was definitely a bargain.  I didn't have enough pesos on me, but fortunately they accepted credit cards.  So, I am now the owner of an original Carlos del River painting.  It will go next to the print.

   

I will now have to make some trips to the nearby framing shop to have my new pieces of art framed!