Xochi Solis

I came across the artist Xochi Solis during my summer and loved the colour, detail and media that she put in her work. When looking her up I found much more of her work and realised that it was on a much bigger scale than I expected. Her work fills walls and spaces with colour, pattern and texture.

“I am continuously inspired by my surroundings and make a concentrated effort to let the present moment resonate with me,” Xochi writes. “I am very aware that every single detail that floods my senses from sunup to sundown has importance and how I perceive this world around us is mine alone. Bad or good, sunny or stormy, this world is pretty marvelous and I try to take my observations and make something unique and true for me.”

Usually I'm not fond of abstract art but I like the way she collages imagery and colour to create an image which gets the viewer thinking about what she was trying to represent. She uses a range of media including found images, gouache, house paint, vinyl, acetate, acrylic, coloured paper, and wax.

Below are my responses to Xochi Solis’ work, which I did in my sketchbook. I used photos that I took on holiday and portrayed their colour palette with watercolour, gouache, and paper scraps, as well as the photo itself. The images which I used are of the sunset, a firework display, a boat trip, and a Sandringham flower show display. I really enjoyed this exercise, as I was able to depict colour and texture by layering up media and papers. If I could do it again I’d make even more effort to get the colours spot on, and try layering up more.