La Sierra 2017

11’ x 6’ feet (330 x 180 cm)

Acrylic on canvas

In the painting, La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta 2017, characters personifying different roles and situations appear on the borderlines of territorial spaces. With rivers that carve the landscape, snow peaks and waterfalls, the coca leaf is the protagonist.

La Sierra 2017. Close up

The coca plant, which appears repeatedly in her paintings,carries significance as sacred and medicinal for Indigenous people, also is a basis for cocaine that has fueled humanitarian crises.

La Sierra 2017. Close up

In Velasco’s paintings opposing elements come together in one place ー this land, where armed soldiers are as present as football stars, where Indigenous, Buddhist, and Catholic beliefs intermingle, and where jaguars, roses, and plantains are all deeply symbolic.

Aluna 2016

7’ x 5’ feet (213 cm x 152cm)

Acrylic on canvas

In Velasco's paintings the lives of humans are entwined with nature, expressing her perspective that all things are interconnected and inseparable.

Mother earth or Aluna is believed to be the force behind all nature, a living being. She represents cosmic consciousness that is the source of all life and intelligence and the mind inside nature too.

Aluna 2016. Close up

In this series she combines vibrant colors, meticulous details and various textures to create luscious, verdant landscapes. These idyllic landscapes provide insight intothe country’s diverse identities.

She was everything that was coming 2019

11’ feet x 6’feet (330 x 180 cm)

Acrylic on canvas

While Velasco focuses on sociopolitical themes, personal memories and dreams are also evident throughout her work. Ultimately, her paintings ask us to question the inherent imbalance between conflict and co-existence.

She was everything that was coming 2019. Close up

In 'She was everything that was coming 2019', Velasco depicts an array of endemic plants and animals within a sweeping view of La Sierra Nevada. The non-human elements outsize the sports cars and popular culture figures which suggest the importance of prioritizing nature as industrialization encroaches.

Her art features species that are facing extinction. During expeditions into remote bio-diverse areas, Velasco learned about the wonders around her. Her devotion to ecology is conveyed in paintings of these creatures presented as holy icons imbued with spiritual blessings.

She was everything that was coming 2019. Close up

Jaguar 2018

12” x 12” inches

Acrylic and plaster on canvas

Jaguar 2018

12” x 12” inches

Acrylic and plaster on canvas

These large-scale works are a plea for conservation. Their prominence in the compositions commands respect for the subjects which face the perilous impacts of climate change and deforestation.

The starry night harlequin toad 2021

5’ feet x 5’ feet

Acrylic and plaster on canvas

Luna Llena 2000

6’ x 6’ feet (300 x 150 cm)

Acrylic and oil on canvas.

One element flows into another, leaving behind a trace of dreamlike memories.

Luna llena 2000. Close up

The layered scenes often include battlefields and sports arenas where the turmoil associated with these sites meets a celebratory calm. These juxtapositions offer insight into her personal and political ethos.

Luna Rosa, 2001

11” x 6” feet (300 x 150 cm)

Acrylic and oil on canvas

She is interested in the possibility of revealing a glimpse into another realm, leading the viewers through imaginary tales that invite them to weave their own story.

Luna rosa 2001. Close up

Johnny

Graphite on paper

12 inches x 9 inches

Estervina & Maria Magdelena

10 inches x 7 inches

Graphite and acrylic on paper

Juliana & Chadwick

10 inches x 7 inches

Pencil on paper

Many of the figures that she has woven together through line and ghost like silhouettes are family members and friends. These include black and white portraits that capture her subjects, both as individuals and representatives of the spirit of their age and culture. She creates from her personal encounters with these people, but within the large paintings become anonymous characters of a collective and universal narrative.

María José

10” x 7” inches

Ink, pencil and acrylic on paper.

Ana Maria Velasco

Over the years walking through this site, Velasco has built relationships and engaged with flora and fauna through rituals. Through this process she has learned to appreciate these elements as perceived by those who care for their habitats.

Through her pilgrimages within these natural surroundings, she creates impressions of sacred moments. The colors, the contrasts between light and dark, and through imagined perspectives, her paintings convey her deep connection to the natural world.

In the painting, La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta 2017, characters personifying different roles and situations appear on the borderlines of territorial spaces. With rivers that carve the landscape, snow peaks and waterfalls, the coca leaf is the protagonist.

The coca plant, which appears repeatedly in her paintings,carries significance as sacred and medicinal for Indigenous people, also is a basis for cocaine that has fueled humanitarian crises.

Mother earth or Aluna is believed to be the force behind all nature, a living being. She represents cosmic consciousness that is the source of all life and intelligence and the mind inside nature too.

Velasco’s pilgrimages through Colombia inform her worldview of interconnectedness, empathy, and reciprocity. Her interest in international sociopolitical movements stems from her youth spent in the context of narco-terrorism in Colombia and dictatorship and revolution in Nicaragua.

These are all ways in which she aims to feed and heal this reciprocal relationship and interdependence of nature and all sentient beings.