I celebrate who I am through the creation of my artworks by intriguing the viewer with vivid colors while challenging the mind with simplicity. I strive to capture a moment in time through the use of soft pastels on sanded paper while delightfully maintaining peace and balance. I tell a story by creating a mood in my paintings through the use of heavy texture, form and the striking pigments of pastel colors. I hope that my works make the viewer linger for a moment, marvel in the light and let their imagination visit a place they have not been in a while!

My Puerto Rican heritage and Latin flare show in my love for bright colors and the edge of my works. My family moved to El Dorado, Arkansas when I was 16 and I immediately fell in love with the people in Arkansas that crossed my path. After having a successful career in Medical Sales and raising two small children, I felt the need to embrace my creative side and started painting in 2004 at the Arkansas Art Center. I have studied with world renowned pastel artists Maggie Price, PSA, Kitty Wallis, PSA, and Albert Handell, PSA. After having taken weekly workshops for 3 years with well noted pastel artists in the Little Rock Area, I decided to pursue my passion of a fine art career.

I am currently showing at The Heights Gallery in Little Rock and Gallery 726 in Hot Springs. You can see more of Virmarie’s art at www.virmarie.com