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Carla Duran

Drawing, Painting, Visual / Media

Artist Statement
Carla Duran
Email: carlaed31@gmail.com
My name is Carla; I am an artist. I especially like to draw using charcoal. I have been drawing since I was a child, it was my fun activity to help calm me down when I was going through anxiety issues related to autism spectrum. My autism would cause me to perceive the world in specific details, and I love to draw it. I love displaying genuine life and emotions through my artwork.
My major required an Art History class; taking this class inspired me to become an artist. I work towards this goal by continuously practicing the techniques I have learned at Montgomery College and from the University of Maryland. I want to communicate through my art, that we can allow ourselves a second chance. If we hold on to what we have learned from our mistakes; and choose to let go of regrets and forgive ourselves, we can overcome.

About the Artist

Carla Duran is an artist living in Germantown, MD. She was born and raised in Maryland along with her three brothers and one sister. She was introduced to all forms of art as a child and fell in love with studio art; since then, she has continued to work, study, and enjoy all forms of art. Her first artwork was presented in an art exhibit during her first art summer camp at the Black Rock Center for the Arts, and then later in Seneca Valley High School during her senior year. She attended Montgomery College and earned an Associates Degree in Art in 2019. Much of her artwork was displayed at the Student Portfolio Review & Exhibition in Montgomery College, Takoma Park, MD. She did works on Hispanic Heritage that were displayed at the Hispanic Heritage Celebration Art Exhibition in the Activity Center at Bohrer Park Gallery in celebration of the Hispanic Heritage month; the paintings support hispanic cultural diversity within the races and the difference in their unique ethnicities. She earned a Bachelor's Degree in Studio Art from the University of Maryland in College Park. Her works were displayed at the University of Maryland Art Gallery. She gained experience in teaching through doing Art Therapy with unaccompanied minors and youth with an organization called Youth For Tomorrow in Virginia, and teaching virtual art classes to inner city children at a Children's Café program during the pandemic. She joined a study abroad program from the University of Maryland in Rome called Rome Art Program to study water color painting and charcoal drawing. She now teaches painting and charcoal drawing at a non-profit organization called VisArts in Rockville MD. Carla draws inspiration in allowing oneself to experience raw emotions and to overcome one's fears and regrets.  

Carla Duran website Carla Duran

Artist's Statement

Here is another exhibition I have done along with an article from the UMD Newspaper talking about it.   Anacostia Drainage Project, Hartwick Road, College Park MD, 2022 https://dbknews.com/2022/10/14/umd-students-storm-drain-painting-pollution/ 

Featured Work

Photos

Two African Colombian women wearing their traditional Colombian dresses handmade with bowls of fruits on their heads. One of them holds a side of her long skirt to her hip, an action of their culture and dancing traditions.
He is a Colombian Bartender in Colombia about to serve a small glass of aguardiente, a liquor, typical Colombian drink. He is wearing the Colombian cowboy hat, and has coffee bags behind him. Also behind him are ceramic tiles on the walls, typical designs of Colombia restaurants and places.
This is the Colombian flag. Gold is abundant in Colombia, blue represents the country's seas, and red for the blood shed for the Colombian independence. I painted this painting for Hispanic Heritage month, and I wanted to honor my parents home country and take pride in the country myself by painting the flag.
It's a smiling Guatemalan girl. She is a woman, with layers upon layers of clothing and fabric on her with a head piece also on her, traditional to Mexico and central America.
The bird is alone on the barbed wire, the barbed wire you cannot leave or enter. I tried to make the picture look like its a scene from a time far back when there was no color for pictures yet. I went to Israel and read books on the Holocaust. It was a very sad and depressing time for all. There's times where people feel that way still, so I wanted to put myself as an example of feeling alone and no one can understand because they are not on top of the barbed wire. It hurts to get on the barbed wire, you can get cuts, but there is healing, and you know that this scene will pass.
I put varnish on the canvas and then I put varnish on the image on my paper, and then I sandwiched it on the canvas. The next day I poured water to rub the extra paper away and see the resulting image, and I wanted to put a person in the air. I decided to paint a parachuter. I was trying to exercises other mediums other than painting. This was me expanding my creativity, my journey into getting out of my comfort zone as my journey keeps on continuing.