PRESENTING
ANDREA MENDOZA
Welcome to my professional Art Portfolio. Here I present some of my favorite art pieces. Look through my body of work, as I attempt to become proficient in the art of culture realism utilizing oil, acrylic and metal mediums, focusing on motifs inspired by my heritage. See my style through these various subjects, and get in touch for more information.
ADDITIONAL ARTWORK
Sculpture
In this section, I would like to present my three dimensional projects, often mixing paint and jewelry smithing.
DOUBLE LOVER'S EYE BROOCH
I created this piece through jewelry smithing and cold connections.
This brooch was based off victorian era jewelry, with the idea of keeping a piece of someone you love, near you. By only having one eye painted, the identity of the lover is usually kept a secret.
In my piece, I created a double lover's eye, with a moving rivet. When closed, only a single eye can be seen, but you can actually open it up, to reveal a second eye. The identity of the lover becomes a little more revealed with the addition of the second eye.
RINGS
“Eye Rings” [mini series] 2022
1. Oil on copper, nickel framing
2. Graphite enamel on copper with brass framing.
3. “Ojo de Venado” [Ring]
Oil on brass
I created this mini series through metal smithing, where I brought one of my paintings to life. I based this piece entirely off my painting, Untitled [eye ring on hand]. But in this new version, I demonstrate an updated skill when it comes to painting.
Through these pieces, especially the one with graphite enamel, I am depicting the expression “ojo”, which in Spanish directly translates “eye”, which is an expression that means “watch out”.
In “Ojo de Venado”, I am mixing the idea of the “lovers eye”, a historical jewelry trend from great britain, with the “ojo de venado”, a historical jewelry movement from my ancestral heritage. In Mexico, ojo de venado bracelets are gifted to people, particularly babies, meant to ward off evil spirits. The bracelet is usually beaded with red and black beads, with a large ball, the deer eye. In Mexico, the ojo de venado is like an equivalent to the blue evil eye symbol we see here in the states. In my piece, I took a contemporary approach where I made it into a ring made of brass.
PAINTING + SCULPTURE
1. “Crocheting Hands” Oil on canvas, 2023 (9” x 12” & 9” x 12”) Size 4 yarn
In this piece, I weave a crocheted net, made by my mother, onto these canvases where I have painted her hands, creating the illusion that she is actively crocheting this piece.
2. Untitled [eye ring on hand] Oil on Paper, 2021 (8” x 10”)
This painting with an eye ring would serve as inspiration for my "Eye Ring" mini series of 2022.
