I just finished creating this version
Of my original piece
“Evolucion Revolucion”
Inspired by my song aka “Evolution Revolution”
Limited prints will be available at my booth
During Comic Con Mexico!
Denise Vasquez is an artist who creates because it is a part of her being. Denise is also an actress, creator, Host, producer of THE BUZZZ 4 U, illustrator, custom toy designer, singer, songwriter, guitarist, activist & Founder of WO+MEN 4 A CAUSE. Here you can follow Denise's latest discoveries, art projects, creative process, interviews with some of her favorite artists and her Spotlights on people making a difference in the world utilizing their creative hearts, minds and souls!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Upcoming Conventions...
Sorry I've been MIA here, been really busy in a GREAT way!
I've been doing a LOT of auditioning & acting lately...I recently worked on the Universal Studios lot in a music video with Chris Brown & Justin Bieber called "Next To You"...that was a LOT of fun...Can't say much about it, but I can't wait to see this video!!! It was EPIC!!!
Our book "Sketch Card Mania" was released this month & the response has been AMAZING!!! It is now available at bookstores as well as on Amazon.com but if you'd like a personalized copy with a sketch & autograph from Randy Martinez & I, you can either order it directly from us via http://www.randymartinez.net or pick one up from us at upcoming conventions...
Speaking of conventions....
This weekend I'll be a guest at Comicpalooza in Houston Texas http://www.comicpalooza.com/
And from there I'll be heading to Mexico for Mexico Comic Con http://www.comic-con.com.mx/Bienvenido_al_Sitio_Oficial_de_Comic_Con_Mexico/Invitados.html
i'll have on hand to purchase & personalize: Sketch Card Mania Books, Original artwork 8.5"x11" Prints & one of a kind 9"x12", One of a kind Official return sketch cards, Full Color Sketch Books, Vinyl Toys...
And yes, I will be doing sketches and commissions (^.^)
I'm looking forward to seeing you all!
PeACe LoVe aRt & sOuL
Denise Vasquez
http://www.denisevasquez.blogspot.com
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Selecting the right Acting headshot
All Photos by: Chris Turk ©2011
As I mentioned in my last blog, I shot new headshots with photographer Chris Turk. It was an amazing experience! Click HERE to to read all about it!
Basically, we shot 5 looks, and I selected 3 of my favorite looks...
Narrowing it down to 3 looks was really a challenge! I went through a LOT of photos and based my choices on the types of roles I was submitting for, and on the type of characters I want to play. There were so many amazing photos! I had so many options, which was kind of overwhelming! In a good way of course...I'd rather have a lot of options than none!
I decided to share my photos with my industry peers and friends online (on my social networking sites Blogger, Facebook, Twitter...) to see what type of response the photos would get. The response was really amazing and only helped to reassure my choices!
I wanted to allow a little time to go by before going to get them printed up. Sometimes I like to walk away & come back before making a final decision on things, just to be sure. Sometimes I just know immediately! Either way, I trust myself in my decision making!
A day or two went by, and I realized that I didn't have any photos that showed me smiling! For many reasons I have always had a smiling headshot, especially because there are many casting directors looking for actors with great smiles, and I really love to smile! (^.^)
I decided to go back and look at all the photos on the disc (Luckily, the photographer gave me a disc with all the photos).
I'm so glad I did! I decided to go through the photos featuring me as the young mom, teacher, nerd look (glasses, head band, flannel shirt). I figured this look would be perfect for a smiling shot! I hoped I to find one. There were a lot of photos to go through and I took my time going through each one. All I needed was one great shot! To my delight there was!!!
I don't know how I missed this photo, but I loved it! This photo is exactly what I wanted! Perfect!
The bottom line is, I really took the time to think about what I wanted. Knowing what I wanted before going back through the photos made it was easier to see it!
I'm so glad I thought about it, and let a little time go by before having my photos printed up! Here are the three I'm going with now:
All photos by: Chris Turk ©2011
Stay tuned for more acting stories!
PeAcE LoVe aRt & sOuL
Denise Vasquez
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Acting Headshots: Three new looks for Actress Denise Vasquez
Photo: Chris Turk ©2011
Over 20 years I discovered the fact that it can be a challenge to shoot with a photographer, whether you know the person or not...BUT when the choice is yours, and you do your homework...you'll find the right photographer for you!
How will you know? Trust your instincts & listen to them! Interview the photographers & don't be afraid to ask questions! You're paying them, so they'll be working for you! You'll know it because you'll FEEL it!!! Whenever I know it's right I feel excited...inspired...right at home with the person...totally relaxed...confident...comfortable with them & with myself...and looking forward to working with the photographer, and ready to have fun!
A few months ago, I decided it was time to get new headshots! I've lost weight, I feel great, my look has changed, and I feel different since my last headshot photo shoot! I was ready!
Getting acting headshots is an important investment in myself & my career, so like anything else I invest in, I did my homework!
I started doing research on acting headshot photographers. I made a file and began saving newspaper articles and reviews from "BackStage". Based on what I read & saw, I had some photographers in mind and I narrowed it down to a select few who I really liked: Vanie Poyey , Kevyn Major Howard , Paul Smith
I still hope to shoot with all of the above someday soon!!!
I continued looking online, for comparison, and interviewing photographers that I knew...
One night, I went to a birthday party & the birthday boy, Deebo was showing everyone his new headshot. I immediately feel in love with the headshot & knew that was it! That's exactly what I was looking for! My search was over! I asked Deebo who the photographer was & to my delight, it was someone I knew from the "Y" named Chris Turk! There was something about the photo that immediately grabbed me & stuck with me! It was obvious to me that the photographer had a GREAT eye by the essence and amazing quality of his work! The photographer was able to bring out Deebo's personality in the photo! That photo had so much life in it! I was so excited! I couldn't wait to get in touch with Chris...and so I did! He sent me more samples of his work, which made me even more excited! The headshots all looked natural, each one unique from the other, and not posed or stiff! And it looked like to brought to life everyone he shot through his photos...MAGIC!
Chris called me on the phone and we talked for a while about what I was wanting to get out of the photo shoot...we discussed what types of looks I was going for...how many looks I wanted...wardrobe...budget...location...how many photos we would shoot..would I get the photos on a disc...how many touch ups.and more!
Once we worked out all of the details, we set up a time and place. I wanted to shoot outside, as an actor I love connecting with and feeding off of my environment and surroundings! We shot 5 looks/changes in four hours, and we shot on different locations! He obviously thought about where to shoot based on the type of looks I was going for! I was really impressed by that and he also was a GREAT director! My man came along to watch & help, and he was really impressed by the entire experience! I'm glad he was there to see and experience it too! (^.^)
Chris showed me the photos from time to time, it's as if he knew when he got "The One"...we basically shot until we knew we had what we needed! SWEET! Although we shot 5 looks, I had him touch up my 3 favorite looks.
Why did I chose the 3 that I did? I based my choices on the types of roles that I'm submitting for.
One look is the Detective, Undercover cop, Lawyer, FBI, Villan...
The second look is the Young mom, teacher, geek girl (that's me)...
And the third look is the bad girl, street girl, mean girl...
Stay tuned for more acting stories!
PeAcE LoVe aRt & sOuL
Denise Vasquez
http://www.denisevasquez.blogspot.com
Monday, May 9, 2011
The Acting bug Strikes again Part 1
Being an artist is all I’ve ever known. I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember. My Mother always made sure that dance, music, art, and the theatre were in our lives. Being raised by a strong, independent, woman, who happened to be an artist, had a big influence on me, from a very early age. I began singing as soon as I could talk, dancing as soon as I could walk, drawing from the time I could hold a pencil, and writing songs and poetry as soon as I could form a sentence! All I’ve ever wanted to do is create, and all I ever wanted to be was who I am, an artist!
I can clearly recall my first performance on stage. I was four years old, doing the “Shuffle Step”, and the “Charleston”. There I was so comfortable in my element, right at home on that stage, tap dancing away for “Ms. Dorothy’s” dance school. I’ll never forget the feeling of being so happy and feeling connected to my creative spirit during my performance! I remember thinking as I walked off the stage, “I am an artist”. In Elementary school, I performed in a number of performances, dancing and singing, and in Junior High School, I performed as a violinist with selected students from my class. High School was where I was introduced to figure drawing classes, and performing as an actress. The 80's were such a fun time! I totally fell in love with acting during high school. I wanted to learn from the best. I did some research, and after a few interviews, I enrolled at “The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute” and at “The Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre Training Unit”. I studied with some amazing teachers at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in New York City including: Janet Ward, Jeffrey Horne, Kirk Taylor, and David Gideon. At The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, I studied with Manuel Martin, Wendy Dillon, and Dr. Angelo Cruz. I LOVED studying from different teachers because they had different perspectives, offering me different approaches to acting, which allowed me to take and use what worked for me...
I also took some private classes here and there and discovered the more classes I took, the more confident I felt, the bigger my network, and the more opportunities I created for myself! I began auditioning a LOT! I LOVE auditioning, especially cold readings! I loved the challenge of making choices on the spot! And I learned so much from each audition. The more I auditioned, the better I got at it! I began getting callbacks & booking jobs! Music Videos, commercials, Film, TV, Educational films, Industrials, Theater, Improv Troupes...You name it, I wanted to do it all & so I did!
Looking back, I had the pleasure of working on some INCREDIBLE projects with some AMAZING people! One of my favorite memories is working on "Carlito's Way"!
I auditioned & got cast as a Salsa dancer. My partner who I auditioned with, couldn't commit to the shoot dates, and LUCKILY they still cast me anyway! I can't remember if we had to commit one week or 2 weeks or more, but I would've quit my job if I had to! Fortunately that wasn't necessary!
Every day was a dream! Al Pacino, Sean Penn, John Leguizamo, Luis Guzman...I got to go to work every day and be around some of my favorite actors!!! (^.^) I noticed each one of them had their own way of preparing for each shot! Sean Penn kept to himself & stayed very focused! Al Pacino was soooo incredibly nice and talked to everyone in character, until it was time to shoot. John Leguizamo also walked around in character, he was a sweetheart & so was Luis Guzman!
Every day while I was not shooting my own scene, I stayed quiet, watched, listened & learned! I was a sponge soaking it all up and I learned so much while working on the set! The crew was amazing, meticulous & incredible! Everyone had a job to do! One day something happened...this girl was supposed to come into one of the scenes carrying a bottle of champagne & a couple of glasses...she couldn't do it! She couldn't carry the tray without something falling off of it...take after take, the same problem & she was laughing about it! I don't know if she was high, stupid or both...but to make a long story short, she ended up wasting time and money which led to her getting the boot! Bye bye...next! Now they needed to fill her spot...and believe me, there were plenty of professionals on that set ready to jump into her shoes! The found a great guy I think his name was Rene, he was already playing a bartender, he was SAG, professional & ready to do the job! He ended up carrying the tray and delivering the champagne in the scene...Now they wanted to find someone who fit into the girls cocktail waitress uniform...they needed a size 4...and they chose ME! I was approached and asked if I could do the part...Heck yes!!!
The most important lessons I learned from this experience were: ALWAYS be professional, NEVER lie about your skills or what you are capable of, AND be nice to everyone you talk to...they will remember you! (^.^)
Stay tuned for more fun acting stories...
PeAcE LoVe aRt & sOuL
Denise Vasquez
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Artist Denise Vasquez & her Conan O'brien Vinyl Doll featured in Music Connection Magazine May 2011 issue
Artist Denise Vasquez
And her Conan O'Brien Celeb Vinyl Doll
Are FEATURED in the May 2011 issue of
On page 23
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Star Wars Day May 4th 2011
May the 4th be with you!
Happy Star Wars Day
The Ovitt Family Community Library
Will be hosting events for Star Wars Day today
Including a "How To Draw" workshop
With Star Wars Artists Randy Martinez & Denise Vasquez
Sponsored by Sakura Color Products of America
Join us
At the Ovitt Family Community Library • 215 East C St. • Ontario, CA 91764 • 909-395-2004
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
"DJ" Symbiote Vinyl Figure by Artist Denise Vasquez
Introducing the latest
Vinyl figure creation
By Artist Denise Vasquez
This time Denise designed & created
Her original character
"DJ"
On a DIY Symbiote
To learn more about Denise Visit
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