Rita María Contreras, Visual Artist

Biography 

Rita Maria Contreras is an award-winning painter based in San Antonio, Texas.  She works in her home studio, steps from her back door, surrounded by native trees and shrubs.  The use of natural pigments is a constant in her work, with subject matter evolving from painterly large landscapes to narrative self-portraits, and more recently, intuitive abstract, process driven oil and cold wax pieces.   

These new works are a meditation on creation, the thrust of life energy, and gratitude for all life, natural and spiritual.  

Wood is the preferred substrate for this work, and the process itself reveals to the artist the surprising compulsion of creativity, the 'why' of the work.  These pieces range in size from 12 x 12' to 20 x 30". 

Past series subject matter include narrative self-portraits (1993 to 2017), large painterly landscapes (the Texas Landscapes series, late 90's and early 2000's), the "Recaudo hace cocina, no Catarina"series, a still life series dedicated to her parents, both passionate cooks, as well as symbolic still lifes representing the sharing of lives.

She also accepts commissions for portraits.