Born in El Paso, Carmen’s interest in the creative process started early. She was exposed to a rich variety of cultures, religions, imagery and languages. From her father she learned to appreciate all kinds of books, a willingness to learn, travel, religion, philosophy and the spiritual and mysterious qualities of life. From her mother, an accomplished artist herself, who kept her big family busy playing in the sandbox and coloring books, she was encouraged to experiment, create, think independently and play. These qualities and values rooted in her childhood are at the very foundation of the work Carmen does today since art imitates life. Carmen communicates her language through the movement of the brushstrokes and powerful compositional elements using vivid colors, harmony and design. Due to circumstances in her life, Carmen painted rather late and after profound changes occurred, she found that the use of color and the brush became a vital and inseparable part of her life. Carmen seems to do it best by incorporating many mixed media techniques using collage, gesso, glazing, stamping, marbleizing, transfers, pastels, pencil, sand and watercolors. This process is often spontaneous, abstract, instinctual, imaginative, emotional and intensely personal, speaking the language of the unknown whether the painting is realistic or of an abstract nature. One of the first steps in beginning Carmen’s work is to create the surface design using the mixed media techniques which add dimension and builds the foundation for the painting. After the work is finished, she lets it sit for a few days or even weeks and move the painting around noting which areas need to be enhanced or diminished to allow it to speak to her. Most of Carmen’s ideas come from the inner landscape of her soul. Her challenge as an artist is to give voice to these images and thoughts and prompt the viewer to transcend the obvious and explore the value and beauty within themselves holding their interest into a thought provoking quest. In her work she has no preconceived idea what the final product will look like. It is at this juncture as an artist that she has realized and understood that she is being influenced by a greater force that ties opportunities and possibilities in with Divine Intervention.

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