Featured Work
Fine Art
Maria de Bueil has mastered numerous painting media but her predilection goes to the ones that she makes with her own hands. She grinds raw pigments with linseed oil to make oil paint, or with egg yolk to make tempera. She paints on linen canvas that she primes herself to achieve the result she is looking for. The meditative process that goes into preparation of her canvases and paints is an essential part of Maria’s journey on the quest to finding her own geometry of beauty.
Anya, oil on linen
89 x146 cm, private collection
A simple sneak-peak into a girl’s world, interrupted from reading her book, becomes a suspension in time in the hope of capturing the mystery of her inner universe. This painting is part of a series of portraits that Maria created for one of her solo shows.
“When working with models I like to make them move around and put them in different situations, let them do what they like while I observe and sketch. This is how the idea for this painting came to life.”
~ Maria de Bueil
Card game, oil on linen
114 X 146 cm, private collection
Here is a mischievous look on the girl’s face wondering if her opponent will notice. The girl in red seems to be oblivious of the ruse. Or, is she only pretending? Though the theme is definitely inspired by Georges de la Tour’s The Cheat, Maria admits that while working on this canvas she was drawn to Simone Martini’s paintings, especially the faces of his characters.
“The challenge in this work was to set up a stage scene without it looking artificial. It was a lot of fun trying to capture the right expressions on the girls’ faces too.”
~ Maria de Bueil
A dream, oil on linen
40,5 x 101,5 cm, private collection
The idea for this painting came spontaneously when Maria was making preliminary sketches studying her model. The girl eventually fell asleep and that’s when the idea for this painting was born. The girl’s enigmatic face is illuminated by the bright yellow of her shirt, not unlike the gilding in icons or an Italian Trecento painting.
“It is fascinating to see the face of someone sleeping. We don’t really know where our minds are while we dream. For me, there is something mysterious and almost supernatural about it.”
~ Maria de Bueil
The three fish, oil on linen
35 x 27 cm, private collection
This little canvas is part of a series of fish paintings. For Maria, painting small still-lifes is a time of relaxation, a time to experiment and play.
“Still-lifes are a sort of playground for me. I play with objects, arranging and rearranging them until I get what I want. It’s a very meditative process too. And I always enjoyed painting fish; it’s amusing to be able to give them their own “faces”.”
Maria de Bueil
