Hi everyone,
Last week I skipped writing the article on the blog! Maybe you didn’t even notice, maybe you did. I just couldn’t find the time. Sorry about it!
Today I bring you the story behind the painting “Pajaro Cactus” and some blog’s updates.
Every day a black bird landed in front of our cabin. We were in the Tayrona Park, in the sierra of Santa Marta, and the humidity of the air allowed us to walk around with only our bathing suits and bare feet.
The bird, whom I decided to call Eugenia, seemed to watch me as I walked out the door of the cabin yawning the last of my dreams, with my hair disheveled and my pillow on my face. She would fly lightly to drink water from the pool and perch on the same cactus every morning.
The other residents of the hotel ignored its presence, but I was fascinated by its black fur, orange beak and its song -which in the absence of coastal chickens- announced a new day.
In Tayrona Park you can find tigers, crocodiles, bears, monkeys, insects, snakes and many types of birds. There are 15,000 hectares of jungle, 3,000 of them in the marine area. It is a beautiful rainforest on the edge of the Caribbean, with a density that traps and threatens to get lost. Indigenous people from 4 communities live there: the Arhuaco, Kankuamo, Kogui and Wiwa. The legend says they turned themselves into tigers at night, that’s why you don’t see any during the day.
I became a fish again and swam until my skin took on the texture of a raisin. I preferred not to sleep so as not to miss the waves and the sunrises, for fear that one day they would no longer be there. My skin became almost as toasted as that bird’s skin. And now I carry the memory of the sea, the cactus and the bird in my sketchbooks.
You can find the digital print in my Etsy store and print it in your favourite local printer service, wherever you are in the world <3.
In some other news…
The Blog is Moving
to substack and changing its frequency to once a month, instead of weekly.
The reason are new paintings, books, tattoos, and jobs! I loved the past months, writing weekly and bringing you stories and drawings really warmth my days. But I hope you find these new projects exciting and interesting as well.
I will send it the first of every month. You’ll keep finding stories, animations, art, creative projects, life updates and so on.
From August 1st, you will receive my newsletter from substack, instead of wordpress. If you are a subscriber of my newsletter, please let me know if you don’t want me to add your email to the substack list by writing me: tinaovalle123@gmail.com until Sunday, 28th of July, 2024.
See you soon!
My Week on Senses
What have I been up to this week? A description of what my senses have felt!
👂The amazing voice of Jackie Opel in “You are not good”.
👀 This cool and interesting documentary of viking art.
👅 Please try this scalloped potato roll, a-m-a-z-i-n-g!
👐 My fingers are full of paint again, Yay! I am painting a metal door with some sardines on it.
👃 Fresh prepared colombian ají!
Again, thank you so so much for reading and your support.
🌟Recommend and subscribe to the newsletter! 🌟 I write weekly about stories, art, creativity, and processes.
Tina Ovalle 
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