AUGUSTOSILVAART

1. PASTEL

My Mother Whistling to her Mocking Bird

My Mother loved animals too, specially birds.
She raised this mockingbird and taught her how to sing our Colombian National anthem which even today that is considered an AMAZING!! thing.
Pastel (30" x 22'")

Mariza the Flamenco Dancer

My beautiful friend Mariza kindly posed for this painting, and the result was truly wonderful.
I aimed to capture her passion for flamenco, which she loves to dance and teach.
She holds castañuelas in her hands, and the vibrant red of her dress was intentionally chosen to emphasize the vigor, strength, and passion of her performance.

Pastel (28" x 36") AVAILABLE FOR SALE!
$1200 (Shipped without frame and glass)

"Mi Morena" in Pastel

My older brother saw her photo in an old National Geographic magazine and he sent it to me.
Of course i felt in love with her amazing beauty, it immediately transported me to the women of the west coast of Colombia where many beauty queens come from.
I painted her here in pastel and again in watercolor (you will see her there available for sale)
I plan to complete a wood carving sculpture of her pretty face soon, Who is interested? How big do you want her?
Pastel (28" x 36")

Rosie

A wonderful couple from Costa Rica commissioned to paint their beautiful and beloved dog Rosie.
They liked the pastel version so much that they asked me to complete a 2D wire version too, which you can see under wire sculpture section .
Unfortunately Rosie died 6 months after they received the art work.
Rosie's painting now lives in their living room wall.
Pastel (28" x 36")

"Marciano" Paso Fino Colombiano

We had a very beautiful Paso Fino horse who one year won 1st place on our local town's fair. His name was "Marciano". Yes he was out of this world!.
I am not the rider but those are my hands. I needed more detail because of the tension of the reins so i pose for myself. I took pictures on the mirror to get the angle right.
I can never get tired of admiring horses for their anatomical perfection, their beauty, their strength, their nobility, their elegance, and their exuberance when trotting and being flirtatious.
Pastel (48" x 36")

"la Zorra" de Charala

Tuesday is market day in Charala, Colombia. Young teens help to carry the groceries to client's home for a low fee.
The wheels are made of wood and the outer shell of the wheels as well as the brake in the back come from old rubber tires.
This kid was proud of his work and asked me to take a photo.
Very soon this system will be obsolete and unknown.
It was mid day, the sun was bright shining above us, yet his friendly attitude and happy spirit captivated mine.

Pastel (28" x 36") AVAILABLE FOR SALE!
$850 (Shipped without frame and glass)

Gift for Bella

My daughter passion is to ride horses. This lovely pony helped her win her first medals and open her hunger for more.
I surprised her at Christmas with this pastel painting gift which she loved.
Pastel (48" x 36")

Gift for Collie

I was hired to paint this pastel for Collie's birthday.
They gave me many photos so i can put together an ideal painting.
I had fun with color and shadowing.
Collie and her family loved it and my customer was very pleased.
Pastel (48" x 36")

India Guajira

This painting of a Guajira Indian lady, from the north of Colombia, brings not only her beauty but the color that surrounds their lovely clothing and their culture's creations
There is deep sense of reflection in her face that intrigues viewers
Pastel (28" x 36")

Galleros

This pastel creation was so much fun to complete because I used so many different resources to put all this Galleros ambient together and there is so much color!
At the time I was in Barranquilla Colombia, so i thought it was appropriate to add our typical "Costeno hat".
At the time i was young so I model my own hands to get the needed details for the boy holding the rooster

Pastel (48" x 36") AVAILABLE FOR SALE
$15000 (Shipped without frame and without glass from Colombia)

Wedding gift for my sister

This painting reminds me of how creative we sometimes have to be to achieve what we want.
I found images of the horses I wanted, but they were at the wrong angle or facing the wrong direction.
At that time, I had to place the image inverted under a strong light to get the desired result, and I had to play with the desired angles.
I ended up choosing a meadow for the background, and I added the tree trunk after I had already finished the painting.
Pastel (48" x 36")

Wine theme in Pastel

I like when i find treasures in incomplete or not fully clear images so i can go and add me touch of creativity and innovation to the piece.
For this painting I was to be able to capture with simplicity the grape's shape, colors and texture.
But what has been liked the most is the transparency of the glasses with wine in them while reflecting the light coming to them from the candle in front of them
This painting brings the ambient and elegance that you expect when being inside a wine base enclosure.
I liked the composition, you will see similar piece under small 3D wire and under oil paints.
Pastel (48" x 36")

2. WATER COLOR ART

My Dad walking at the farm

My Dad made it all the way to 102 years old.
He would hike around the farm everyday with one of his five favorite canes that he would find, cut, polish and adapt as official Gabriel Silva's cane to walk around "El Nogal".
He frequently would put the cane on his back and walk like this uphill (his signature)
Watercolor and Charcoal (28" x 36")

"Hurdling Cattle" in Watercolor

I wanted to try a different more nostalgic moment.
I like the light that watercolor offers with not that much effort.
For all the versions that i have created of this piece, i always challenge the viewers to tell me how many animals do you see?

Watercolor (12" x 8.5") AVAILABLE FOR SALE
$500 (Shipped framed and with glass)

"Mi Morena" in Watercolor

The water color version gave me a wonderful opportunity to explore the media and the theme on different ways.
I like to have the viewers always questioning what the subject is thinking about?
Visitors to you home will always come to this painting to admire the lady's beauty and elegant posture

Watercolor (28" x 36") AVAILABLE FOR SALE
$5000 (Shipped framed but without glass)

"Jesus" in watercolor for my pastor

I was surprised one day that the pastor at my church kindly asked me if i could paint an image that he had of Jesus.
Of course i said yes. He loved it and was very happy with my gift.
Years later , by pure coincidence, i saw that one lady friend of my family had in her purse a small picture of my painting that she prays to often. Not sure to this day, how she got a hold of it? .......a miracle?
Watercolor (28" x 36")

Wave in watercolor

My Puerto Rican roommate was missing the sea when we were living in cold Liverpool, NY, we negotiated a deal and he got this painting that he loved.
What was so cool about this was that I used for the first time wrinkled plastic grocery bags to paint in watercolor and gave me wonderful water effect results.
In every paint you always learn something
Watercolor (2" x 36")

3. ACRYLIC ART

German Shepperd Puppies

Before my daughter got her current black German Shepperd (Apollo), I surprised her on her birthday with this painting that she still has hanging in her room at her Mom's house.
Acrylic on canvas (30" x 30")

Autumn in East Aurora NY

I spent many years in East Aurora NY and one of the things that i love to experience there was the autumn season.
I finally captured one day the beauty that i normally would see as i drive to work everyday.
I stopped and captured the moment and with some wood that i had at home, i completed this painting in wood which brings me joy every time i look at it.
I like that in acrylic i behave a bit more loose than my normal pastel creations.
let me know which style you like best?
Acrylics on wood (36" x 36'")

Life Flowing

This is a painting of the river that surrounds my parent's farm.
My mother used to love to go this spot to bath and relax.
I created this tryptic (3 paintings that go together in this order) to reflect that this is "Life Flowing"

Everything seems ok with small normal life flow.
The chaos comes and we feel is a tough moment.
Then peace comes again.

Acrylic on canvas - Tryptic- (24" x 20") AVAILABLE FOR SALE
$15000 (Shipped framed and with glass)

4. OIL ART

"Hurdling Cattle" Oils on canvas

This was captured while visiting my parent's farm in Colombia.
The ambient was so peaceful and pleasant, it was a sunny day and the smell of cattle felt delicious for me that day.
I adventured with the paint trying fluorescent and textured paint which gave me wonderful results.
This HUGE PAINTING will catch eveyone's attention where ever you placed it.
I added some images ideas below for you to see this on the wall of a big steakhouse or southwest bar
BTW, How many animals do you count?

Oil on canvas (5' x 6') AVAILABLE FOR SALE
$27000 (Shipped framed )

"Santo Tomas de Aquino" gift to riachuelo church

My Mother called me on day to let me know that thieves got inside the church in riachiuelo (a very small village near our coffee farm in Colombia) and stole the painting of Saint Thomas of Aquin from the top wall of the church altar.
My mom told the nuns to not worry, that i was going to paint the same picture for them for free.
Months later my bother flew back to Colombia with this large present, he had a lot of problems bringing it into the country because the Government thought it was stolen art.
Many decades have passed and my painting is still in the church, but they recently moved it to a chapel because they were able to find years later the original stolen piece.
Oil on canvas (5' x 6')

Lightning

The name of the horse was lightning, so it made sense to put him interacting with the real nature event
Can you hear it?
It transports me to the mountains where the farm is located in Santander Colombia and how horse spooked when such sound occur.

Oil on canvas (3' x 2.5') AVAILABLE FOR SALE
$1500 (Shipped framed )

Wine theme in Oils

The first time i painted this theme was in pastel and many people loved the realism and colors under a dark underground wine cellar.
This second time I used oils and made it bigger, you will notice i added bottles on the left
This time i also went to the store and bought many grapes to reproduce the wine scene and capture the light on the grapes more accurately.
This HUGE PAINTING will catch everyone's attention where ever you placed it.
The expensive quality oils i used paid off. Colors turned beautiful and were more impactful than before.
Click on learn more to see how this painting looks on the wall of a house towards the upstairs
Oil on canvas (4' x 5')

House by the beach view

This was a customer request.
They wanted a large sea scene to put in their new sea rental home.
We discussed their dream and the results was well liked.
i added a few pictures when i was in the middle of it to remind the time, the place and the moment when this beautiful creation came about.
Oil on canvas (4' x 2.5')

"Vision of the new world"- Indian view

This painting captures a native south American Indian native at the time of the discovery of America.
The Indian man, is coming inside what appears to be an improvised church, but before entering he turns and looks at the Spanish very suspiciously.
At the right you see the back of priest and in the middle you see a Spanish soldier with his sword talking to others

Oil on canvas (1.5' x 2') AVAILABLE FOR SALE
$5000 (Shipped framed )

"Vision of the new world"- Spanish view

When you rotate the previous image of the Indian view 90 degrees to the left, the same painting becomes what the Spanish saw.
They are inside the boat and are navigating towards the shore of this new land.
They see green mountains full of treasures to be discovered and taken.
New continent to explore and colonized.

Oil on canvas (1.5' x 2') AVAILABLE FOR SALE
$5000 (Shipped framed )

5. WIRE ART

Hurdling cattle

Abstract version of the same theme (see Hurdling Cattle in Oils)
I used galvanized wire plus welded color metal sheets and i also used spray paint.
How many cattle do you count?
Wire and colored metal sheets (6' x 4.5') with thick white PVC sheet for background and attachment support.

AVAILABLE FOR SALE
$3000 (Shipped rolled )

Wine theme in 3D wire

I challenged my self to capture the wine theme in color wire in an abstract sort of way.
I added the keys on the side to help you dimension the size of the art work completed.
It was fun trying to capture the essence with as much simplicity as possible.
The bucket and the base are the only elements in wood.
3D Wire sculpture (3" x 3 " x 2")

Horses Flirting

Simple but impactful.
You can buy each individual horse or buy them as a couple to be displayed as i did here .
Not welded. Each horse is made of one roll of galvanized wire.
I used three nails to anchor each horse to the wall.
Only wires intertwined, No backing at all is used.
Each horse has my signature quietly intertwined

2D wire (4' x 4' each horse) AVAILABLE FOR SALE
$9000 together - Shipped rolled.
$5000 (@ when sold separately)

¿Cómo quedé? [How do i look?]

The naked (3D model) has taken her towel from her head, she is holding it in her hand, and after walking naked towards the easel, she is shown standing in front of the easel looking at her own 2D portrait on the easel and asking "How do i look?".
The 2D image of model posing is in thinner wire.
It is hard to capture the beauty of this sculpture with one photo, please click below under "learn more" to see the other views of this abstract and simple work.
This sculpture was sold to another dear artist and close friend who has it in display in her art studio in East Aurora, NY.
3D wire (18" x 12 x 12"")

Diana in Wires

I was living in Mexico at the time and I was convinced that I was going to meet this beautiful Russian lady named Diana that i met through internet.
We wrote many letters and she send me a photo that i really liked which i reproduced from one single string of wire and i sandwiched into a plexiglass transparent frame, ready to hang and i mailed it to he address in Russia
She loved the gift and expressed her gratitude.
We tried to meet in Europe but it never happened.
Years later Diana moved to Canada, where she has been happily married but we remain friends.
What Diana doesn't know is that this was the first time i had done something like this.
2D wire (18" x 12 )

Female winner

I was hired in Florida to create a 3D version of an already existent 2D Logo of an organization that celebrated "Women High Achievers".
The 3D version I created was given to a professor at USF .
This opened the doors for me to explore abstract art actively and minimize the details while using all the material from one single string of wire.
The movement of the figure when near wind or when handled adds unexpected energy to the winner lady.
I loved so much this experience that I reproduce the work and now i am ready to sell it or make it bigger and in thicker wire.

3D wire (12" x8" x 8") AVAILABLE FOR SALE
$500

Rosie in wire

This is the wire version of "Rosie" the female dog that I also painted for dear customers from Costa Rica.
Again, there is no welding at all. The whole sculpture is made from a single and long string of wire.
The customer was happy with the result. They decided to place it in a dark background.
No supporting backing needed.
2D wire (3' x 2.5')

6. WOOD SCULPTURE ART

Horse Drinking Water 1

My Colombian customer wanted this theme and he also wanted me to deliver it in person to a small town in Colombia. I agreed.
I had done small #D woodcarvings before but never this big. I told my customer this truth plus I told him (if you don't like it, no problem, you don't have to buy it)
I practiced first on a large trunk of wood i found and the results gave me the needed confidence.
I bought chain saws and began to accept any kind of large trunks of wood i could.
The final result was good. I added blue epoxy to the base to simulate water
I showed it to the customer and he love it.
I was worried about the ears of the horse breaking during my trip from Oregon USA to a small town inside Colombia.
I overprotected the sculpture and it arrived in perfect state to my customer.
You can see the graphical history of this journey by clicking the "see more button below" or go to the "STEPS 2 VISION TAB ABOVE"
Wood (48" Long x 28" in diameter)

Horse Drinking Water 2

I spent a lot of time planning this two part wood sculpture unfortunately I didn't know at the time that using wood glue to attach these massive pieces was a major mistake.
Besides making a big mess in my garage with the glue first and then with epoxy filler, i can sincerely say i learned how to do it right this and next times.
I was happy when i was forced to use my engineering skills to solve this problem, to properly attach two different and equally massive wood pieces.
The results were solid. I then let the wood show its cracks. Then filled cracks and now i am retouching the last details to put this big boy for sale

Wood (48" x 48') AVAILABLE FOR SALE
Weights 200 lbs
$25000

Love seat from Seaside Driftwood

I wanted to spend time with my daughter so i gather some tools and we drove towards the beach (Seaside) near Portland Oregon with the intent to gather drift wood to build a bunker bed.
We were lucky that many logs were spread on the beach.
The hard part was to cut them because the sand on the wood quickly damaged the sharp file of my tools.
We put as many pieces as we could inside the truck and drove back home.
The pieces were not enough so i decided to make a love seat instead with a resting back that rotates a bit to accommodate the back profile of who ever is/are seating on it.
Wood (70" x 60') AVAILABLE FOR SALE
Weights 80 lbs
$800

Apollo in wood

I wanted to surprise my daughter for Christmas giving her the wood sculpture of her beloved dog "Apollo".
I out his head on a base and she loved it
I noticed the talent and manual abilities for my daughter to complete any project. I am hoping the exposure that i have given her when woodcarving together, cutting driftwood, drawing, etc, comes back to her later on in her life to explore new creations from her side.
Wood (24" x 12 x 12')

Paso Fino Horse Head

The big and strong neck and chest of "paso Fino Colombian Horses, is something that needs to be highlighted
Their eyes are very expressive and their manes are usually long.
The cotton wood i carved was a bit too soft and too brittle for my chain saw, so i had to be extra careful with the carving.
My biggest challenge with this sculpture was when i was almost done, i found the center to be hollowed from an ill tree. I have to be creative and used white epoxy filler from his forehead all the way to his back.
I actually ended up loving his front star white mark that adorns his forehead like in real life paso fino horses.

Wood (36" x 24" x 40') AVAILABLE FOR SALE
Weights 60 lbs
$6000