Danielle Estefan kneetoface.com
Miami-based Danielle Estefan (b. 1984) uses an illustrative style to create cute and humorous work. Despite the fact that her characters often appear sad or cynical, hinting at a darker undercurrent beneath innocent facades, Estefan's paintings are playful and lighthearted.
A former student of the Design and Architecture program at the New World School of the Arts, Estefan works primarily in acrylics, and uses a variety of surfaces, such as particle wood or construction paper, to create a smooth, matte finish. She will often integrate the surfaces into the work as a background, or use the texture as skin tone for her figures. "I like to use a lot of brown, earthy, surfaces to compliment the colors in my paintings, which tend to have a lot of pink and turquoise in them," said Estefan. When she's not painting, the artist fills up sketchbooks that are sometimes used as references for future works.
The goal (and achievement) of Estefan's paintings are to reflect a mood. The work is primarily made for the purpose of sheer enjoyment -- both for the artist and the viewer. She has fun with the finished product as well as the process, and this carries through in each piece.
Tatiana Suarez tatisuarez.com
Tatiana Suarez (b. 1983) is a Brooklyn-based Miami native. This emerging artist is an alumni of the University of Miami's Graphic Design program, and also works as a freelance illustrator. Her charming style is distinctive -- first, the trademark eyes that draw the viewer into a beautiful and surreal world. Suarez takes full advantage of the oil paint's ability to create creamy, soft images on canvas. Rich with symbols that stem from her Brazilian and El Salvadorian heritage, subjects appear as if they are under water, frozen in lovely stillness. The doe-eyed figures look childlike, but also exude sexual overtones, ornamented with plants, insects and other unsettling accompaniments. Beauty is presented concurrently with exotic -- even creepy -- creatures to create enchanted narratives.
Suarez recently participated in the Primary Flight street art exhibition which took place during Art Basel Miami, December 2 - 6, 2009. The artist's finished product is a mural that remains intact in Miami's Wynwood Arts District. In addition, Suarez regularly exhibits work in galleries across the United States, including Bear & Bird Gallery, Lauderhill, Florida.
Natali Martinez natalikoromoto.blogspot.com
Venezuelan-born Natali Martinez's (b.1983) work is the perfect blend of the adorable and the surreal. Each piece is a dreamlike vignette, an odd and humorous combination of subjects, such as a dancing chinchilla or a girl holding a very tiny dog in the palm of her hand. Martinez's use of movement and cartoony figures result in lively little paintings, which are absurdly cute and sometimes perplexing.
Martinez, a graduate of the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale school of Animation, works as a commercial illustrator and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
