I knew a woman who lived in a purple house in a bad neighborhood. Between her work, which kept her home a lot, and the danger of the neighborhood, she left the house only rarely. One day she said she was afraid her neighbors would start thinking of her as the "crazy lady who lived in the purple house". I drew this picture from that image.
"Crazy Lady in the Purple House" 2007 18" x 24" Acrylic wash and colored pencil
You can see "Mardi Gras", more of my mosaics and a lot of other art at the upcoming Jingletown Open Studios in Oakland California, June 2008. Go to the Jingletown website for all the information.
Fernando Reyes began his art career as a self-taught artist. However, after he spent 17 years in banking in San Francisco, he decided to seek formal art education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has lived in Oakland for the past eight years and his studio is at the Ford Street Studios in the Jingletown neighborhood of Oakland.Fernando has produced a large and diverse portfolio of artwork. His work is primarily representational and includes oil paintings, charcoal/conte drawings, and printmaking. His primary interest is in depicting the human figure. To me, he captures the "presence" of the figure; not only the weight and volume of the body, but the personality of the model as well. And with his paintings and prints - as with the Japanese erotic art I wrote about in a previous post - the viewer has to become involved with the work, unravelling the lines and colors to actually see the figures and movement of each piece. This is not art that just sits on the wall matching the decor!These works have captured the attention of collectors throughout the region, nationally and internationally.
Over the last decade Fernando has had several solo exhibitions and has been in many group exhibitions featuring his figure drawings and/or print works.
Fernando is one of many Jingletown artists who will be opening their studios as part of the East Bay Open Studios, June 7, 8, 14, 15, 2008.To see more of his work, visit his website Fernando Reyes For more about Jingletown and it's artists visit this website Jingletown Also check out more here : JTown blog
Slightly curmudgeonly, a bit on the eccentric side, with a maniacal enthusiasm for the automobile since his early youth, Bill Silveira enjoys making art out of discarded auto parts, rusty scrap metal, and other unique items that seem to find their way into his vast collection of interesting and eclectic junk.A resident of Oakland's Jingletown arts district since the early 1990's, Bill likes to think of himself as "Sanford and Son-ish with a slightly twisted bent." When not working on his welded metal sculptures, you may find him with a paintbrush in hand creating something usually inspired by the automobile with acrylic paints. Additionally, this semi-retired used car dealer is also well known in the filming industry as the guy who can provide you with just about anything you need from classic cars to caskets for your shoot. It's also been rumored that he's worked for wine and cheese in his not-so-distant past, but that fact hasn't been wholly substantiated just yet.These pieces are now showing at the Jingletown Art Show at ProArts Gallery, 550 2nd Street, Oakland, CA from March 18 through April 25. You can contact Bill at automania@comcast.net
I knew a woman who lived in a purple house in a bad neighborhood. 
You can see "Mardi Gras", more of my mosaics and a lot of other art at the
Fernando Reyes began his art career as a self-taught artist.
Fernando has produced a large and diverse portfolio of artwork. His work is primarily representational and includes oil paintings, charcoal/conte drawings, and printmaking. His primary interest is in depicting the human figure. 
To me, he captures the "presence" of the figure; not only the weight and volume of the body, but the personality of the model as well. And with his paintings and prints - as with the Japanese erotic art I wrote about in a previous post - the viewer has to become involved with the work, unravelling the lines and colors to actually see the figures and movement of each piece. This is not art that just sits on the wall matching the decor!
These works have captured the attention of collectors throughout the region, nationally and internationally.
To see more of his work, visit his website Fernando Reyes
Slightly curmudgeonly, a bit on the eccentric side, with a maniacal enthusiasm for the automobile since his early youth, Bill Silveira enjoys making art out of discarded auto parts, rusty scrap metal, and other unique items that seem to find their way into his vast collection of interesting and eclectic junk.
A resident of Oakland's Jingletown arts district since the early 1990's, Bill likes to think of himself as "Sanford and Son-ish with a slightly twisted bent." When not working on his welded metal sculptures, you may find him with a paintbrush in hand creating something usually inspired by the automobile with acrylic paints.
Additionally, this semi-retired used car dealer is also well known in the filming industry as the guy who can provide you with just about anything you need from classic cars to caskets for your shoot. It's also been rumored that he's worked for wine and cheese in his not-so-distant past, but that fact hasn't been wholly substantiated just yet.
These pieces are now showing at the Jingletown Art Show at ProArts Gallery, 550 2nd Street, Oakland, CA from March 18 through April 25. You can contact Bill at automania@comcast.net
