Mr. New York

Following up on my last post in regards to which picture I never altered or changed would be....Mr. New York. The other 3 pictures I changed and added different things, or just cloned myself.

Good guesses though everyone.

As far as the pictures below are concerned; in 2003 I entered the Mr. New York Championship Competition, where I won the Mr. New York title and then later won Night of the Champion. It was definitely a great experience and one I will never forget.

Do you know what's real?

There's so many digital programs out there from photoshop, coral, and many others that it's hard to tell what is real and what's not. With that said, it's easy to understand that any picture can be altered in many ways. Whether it be minor touch ups to hide flaws or to create some new out of something old. Just like the celebrities in magazines; all the changes that are made to make them look perfect: remove a mole, add a tan, erase some extra weight, add back some thickness in the perfect places, create a rock solid six pack, get a new hair style, visit a place you've never gone, and the list goes on.

So let's play a game today. Can you tell which picture hasn't been altered or changed in any way?

Pirate Beltran of the Caribbean?


Meet my handsome twin brother, Raul?


Oh yes, Mr. New York?


My days working at the Bronx Zoo?



Have fun and I will be back later to let you know which one I never changed.

Midnight Irish Rose

There is a rose bud in there if you can find it...


“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Anais Nin

Mystery Road

The mystery road came about from a picture I had taken of the Trump Tower and the surrounding area. I gave the art a little of my taste by putting in some dimension throughout the original picture and ended up with this as a final piece.

Liquid Crystal

Candy Corn

Abstract art has no boundaries...there's so much a person can express and create from the simplest of things to the more complex. A piece of candy corn?

Many Thanks

I want to personally thank everyone for your comments and inspiring words. It is one thing to visit and browse around, but to take time out of your day to leave a message is very thoughtful.

When I first decided to give "blogging" a chance, I was apprehensive about the outcome or if my art would even be noticed. However, it has turned out to be one of the best ideas I've had. As soon as I finish the last details of my website and link them together, I will be able to bring a lot more creations and ideas to share with you.

I am grateful for the friends I have met here and pleased that I am able to share my passion with all of you.

Enjoy your day and find every ounce of happiness life has to offer.

Ricardo

Different Views

Sea Cave


Ice Doom

Fractals, Fractals, Fractals!!!

Fractal Blast


Dream Nautilus


Jellyfish


I just love creating fractals!!!

3-D Swivelball

Ideal Perfection

These are objects that are seen in everyday life, but never truly noticed for their perfection. People can idolize different things or objects in many ways for different reasons. Some of them are idolized only for a short moment of time, while others remain with as a constant reminder.

Twisted

Psychedelic Fusion

The Majestic Egg

Ruby, The Spider

I am always thinking of new ideas for artwork. Some times the ideas come to mind rather quickly and turn out extraordinary. While others take longer and have to be re-created over and over until I get a creation that I'm satisfied with.
My artwork "Ruby by the Sea" would be a little of both. I had a picture of my mother's favorite ruby ring spinning in my head. However, the picture that I had in my mind wasn't exactly how it turned out, the final piece was more of a planned experiment.

Ruby-by-the-Sea

My Value of Gold

In my spare time when I'm not adding to my art collection, I make myself busy researching rare metals and precious stones. I am intrigued with the beauty a gold nugget holds, how rare they are and where they can be found. My interest with gold and other metals is something I hope I can expand on in the near future. I have always wanted to try metal detecting, but haven't had a good chance at it yet. I have researched the equipment and the places that are known for metals. I got to see this first hand last summer, as I watched a man walking along the beach at Coney Island with a metal detector. In the middle of his search and digging holes, I stopped by to ask a few questions. He was a very friendly man and invited all the questions that I had. Already that day, he had found a ring, a necklace charm, among other things, and odd-in-end change. He shared with me that he is able to find around $2000 a year of gold items and coins at the different sites he visits. I knew that day, it wouldn't be long before I would have the opportunity to put all my research to the test and try out this new hobby I was excited about. Until then; however, I will have to settle with the art work I create that represents my value of Gold.

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." ~Scott Adams

Digital 3-D Art

One of my favorite digital effect techniques is 3-D. It's fun to create and just as enjoyable to view over and over. Being that it's 3-D, there's many dimensions of it and more depth of the art to understand. This type of digital art is fun to play around with and enjoy.

Digital Art

My largest selection of creations is digital artwork, so I have decided to list a few of them. I hope you enjoy them...

Golden Nugget


Melted Magic


Sea Nuggets


Electric Circus

Digital Landscape

It's amazing what can be created on a computer. Getting my vision to come to life is what I strive for and am delighted when I achieve it. I enjoy working with photographs I have taken and either adding minor changes for detail or giving a complete face lift to them. Or starting with a black computer screen and compiling something beautiful.

Fractal Art

Personally, I have taken a big liking to fractal art and all that can be created with such a technique. The appearance of a finished artwork is seen differently through the eyes of the beholder when it comes to fractal designs. It's captivating and no two people will see the same thing within the image itself. That alone makes this art fascinating, wondering how each viewer sees the creation if they can explain it or if it's something that's unexplainable to a certain degree. For me at times it can be hard to explain, especially when I don't always know as a creator what my final creation will be.

Welcome to my views of life and my passion for art...

I don't remember a time that I wasn't intrigued with art of some kind. However, when I was in 4th grade my hobby for art became my passion. My main inspiration came on a field trip that year when my class went to the New York Hayden Planetarium. The first thing that immediately caught my attention, was a projector located in the center of the planetarium. It reminded me of a giant ant. I didn't get much out of the sky show that day, I was too preoccupied with this mesmerizing giant robotic ant that was conquering a few of the planets. I can recall experiencing a moment where I actually thought that this thing was going to catch me.

This machine was the Buhl's Zeiss II projector. It was designed and built in Germany shortly before World War II. The size of this projector was around 12 feet and it was placed on a three or four feet high base platform and weighed around 6000 pounds, including the supports and elevated platform. So to say the least I was captivated by the architecture of the machine and how the different parts resembled the ants eyes, mouth, and legs. This projector was showing a series called, “Tribute To Galileo Galilei“. While the class was focused on the amazing sky show and its effects (which by the way, was the giant ant’s way of distracting people), I was focusing in with great caution on this giant mechanical ant that only had one mission in mind. That mission was to capture me!

The following day, my class was instructed to paint or write about what we saw on our field trip. I decided to paint and paint I did; I focused on my work and painted as true of a picture as I could attain. I put great detail into my work as I painted the giant ant as I remembered it. I was never really sure what my classmates and teacher seen in my artwork; whether it was the projector with the many stars or my ant. That was my very first artwork and it was also the first time I got to see my art work hung on someone’s wall. I have been painting ever since.

Whether it be painting or sketching I continued to find happiness, joy, and contentment through my artwork; but it wasn't until my late 30's that I took myself more seriously. Since then I have researched, studied, joined a few local art groups and have continued to develop my own style.
I would say painting with acrylics would be my favorite medium and most challenging. I have worked with oil and watercolor as well and gotten desirable results, but in choosing an all time favorite it would be acrylics. (Even though my new fascination is with digital art and 3-D creations.)Acrylics tend to dry faster than oil paint, with little room for errors or long term decision making. The more paint I have on my palette, the more I will lose if I take my time painting or let it stand in the open long enough to dry. This lack of time and the fact that I love to load up my palette, puts me in a situation where I have to act out on the impulses of spontaneity. It also gives me little or no room to gear away from my current thoughts and emotions to something else. In other words, I have no way out if I decide to change my mind as I go along with any given project. It’s not the same with digital art.
With digital art you don’t have to worry about paint drying up or stretching and priming a canvas. I think the worst that can happen while working on a digital project is having your computer loose all your data. Come to think of it, I think that’s worst than having a loaded palette full of hard dry paint. Being from the old school and digital art being a new school technology, I try my best to create some of my digital art without using any 3-D related software. I find this way of creating my artwork a little more challenging. Of course this approach is not always practical. Why use four strokes of a brush when you can use one and get the same or better results. Again, this is a matter of taste and what it is that you’re trying to create. I some times find it very difficult to resist the temptation to sit behind the wheels of one of the dozens of high tech software that are out there.

It hasn't been until recently that I have taken my art to a full-time status. I have come to the stage in my work that I am presenting and selling my creations online to show my art to a wider audience. As I continue to create new artwork, I am also finishing the last few details on my website. So, until I have mastered the remaining tasks on my website I will be hosting some of my artwork here. As I have just started in this new online adventure, I ask for patience as I share my creations with you. I hope it's as joyful for you to see as it is for me to create.

If you are interested in purchasing my work or to ask me about them, please contact me at
beltranstudios@gmail.com.

Enjoy the day...Ricardo