Abuelita Del Maíz Print

Abuelita Del Maíz is inspired by the photography of my good friend Rodrigo Maisterra, a photographer from Guadalajara, Mexico. While living with Rodrigo for a few months in the Yucatán Peninsula, Rodrigo would often photograph the local people of the small town we were staying in called Homún. One day Rodrigo came home and showed me the photos he took that day, and one, in particular, stood out to me so much that I was inspired to paint a portrait from it. Rodrigo helped me come up with concepts of what the painting should depict and I browsed through photographs of Yucatán landscapes for reference. After Rodrigo mentioned the significance of corn or maize to the Mayan people, I decided to place giant corn behind the grandmother to solidify that connection. I painted a warm sunny sky in the background to tie in the importance of the sun to growing crops and the warmth of the people.