D. Reina

I live and work in an absolutely gorgeous part of the world. I have lived outside of Taos, New Mexico for 26 years. I am surrounded by high desert mesas. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains are to the east of me and the tiny Rio Hondo winds its way through the valley and then cuts through deep canyons on its way to the Rio Grande! It’s no surprise that my artwork reflects landscapes of blazing mountains, eroded hills of melting colors and infinite vistas of canyons juniper and sage.

I work with Prisma color pencil, which is a wax based pencil, on 100% rag paper. I use vivid ultra-realistic colors of hot pinks, violets, intense sky blue, deep indigo, electric yellows and oranges. My landscapes are almost psychedelic. They definitely cut the edge between reality and fantasy.

My drawings begin with the initial sketch or “under drawing”. Every line must be true since nothing can be erased once I apply the color pencil. The first layer of color is applied in a heavy manner. Then I slowly work and blend in layer after layer of color pencil creating intense vibrant landscapes. After four or five layers of color, the drawing is finished with several coats of a spray fixative to insure color stability.