Lilibeth André
Houston, TX
Artist's Website
Artist's Statement:
I paint because it is easier than talking. I chose art as a primary creative focus in my life when I realized art was the one thing I could do with “my eyes closed”. Art takes me to a specific moment in time. I travel away from where I am and feel freed to experience that image. I create a cloud of color and suddenly, it takes form and becomes real. I create scenes that inspire serenity, beauty, calm, connection, color, and life.
I like to experience the feel of my materials: a firm bristle brush with spring to richly dab the paint; the luxurious spread of a sharpened pencil on paper; the brush bouncing off a tight canvas; and a board with unquenchable thirst for color. I am the only one that can communicate what I have to say and I must speak with my hands through these brushes and pencils. I want to communicate creating new and better ways to speak.
In my work, color is prevalent and the curved line dominates. I experiment with materials, explore color, texture and light. I consider myself a young child learning many languages and anxious to speak my truth. I speak of peace, escape, solace, love, and respect for life and nature. I am always planning my next pieces.
When I work with a medium I want to get to know it. I enjoy the challenge of controlling it. I begin a piece by blocking my main shapes. I know a piece is done when I can’t do more for it. It becomes a statement of who I am at that moment. When my work is complete I feel a sense of accomplishment but I am soon off to the next piece. I enjoy people’s reaction to my work.
My work transports me to another world, tranquil and serene. This is the world near me or created from something in my mind. I enjoy the colorful expression of realism and impressionism capturing the moment of inspiration and the final work. I use the medium to sculpt the subject with color, hopefully connecting with the viewer. My goal is to link the viewer’s reality to the world I see and represent.
Before I begin a project, I find an idea that lights a spark in me. The subject tells me what medium to use. I begin the foundation with a preliminary and simple sketch. The initial work seems to take too long before I apply color, my favorite stage. From here, I gain momentum as the work progresses. If I reach a difficult point, I take a break to consider what I want to do. I step back and take time out to think about it. I return to the color process and finalize the work.
Artist's Bio:
Born in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Lilibeth likes to reflect on the beauty found in all things and people. She likes to recreate the serenity and uniqueness of the subject in various mediums and supports.
Mastery of the art tools is her current focus. To achieve this, she explores and experiments in the areas of realist portraiture and wildlife with impressionist landscapes and still life.
First aware of art in kindergarten, she exploried her first drawings on her father’s drafting table. She relished the thrill of plein aire painting in an outing organized by her school. People gathered around her at the main square to watch the children’s art in progress. Their interest created a sense of appreciation for her creativity.
While attending grade school in the United States, Sister Mary Saint Joseph acknowledged Lilibeth’s Crayola depiction of the Virgin Mary. The recognition raised the bar and motivated her to create something new that inspired enjoyment. Experimenting in art at every opportunity, whether on her own, in elective classes or during summer school, exploring art’s vast boundaries was a fun and ongoing project.
Her mother instilled the concepts of design and creativity that appeared in inventive projects, crafts and fashion design which, in the teen years, included school uniforms and long gowns worn to formal dance parties.
After three fun years of work experience in marketing, she decided to study design at the Centro de Estudios Tecnológicos in Coyoacan, Mexico. She also attended art class in the Escuela de Artes, conveniently located next door. She applied oils and watercolors in her first paintings and experimented with colored pencil, acrylics and air brush for her design models. She produced a miniature series of colonial churches in watercolor and ink, and participated in her first formal exhibition in 1980.
Art turned into photography, illustration and later incorporated writing. She added computers to her skills producing bilingual, technical and graphic communications for professional and non-profit organizations and in 2002, Lilibeth graduated cum laud with a Bachelor of Business Administration. It was at this time in her life that she became convinced that art was her life quest.
Lilibeth has studied under Houston artists Jo Mullendore, Nikki Szeto and Bruce Williamson. She continues to explore mediums and supports in the creation of realist and impressionist art to represent portraits, wildlife, still life and landscapes. She has won various awards and begins to receive recognition for her work.
