Land that Becomes Art - Natural Pigments Workshop
GeoTinta is the art of extracting and preparing natural pigments from earth and minerals to create unique works with water-based paint.
A practical, sensitive, and creative encounter, where the earth transforms into color and the essential becomes form.
A profound experience to reconnect with the environment, materials, and the ancestral gesture of creating with who we are.
Dates
September 28, 2025
Schedule: 4 hours - 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
In this 4-hour workshop, we will explore the artisanal elaboration of ancestral painting techniques, starting with raw materials:
• Natural nankin ink
• Egg tempera
• Natural watercolor
• Oil with pure pigments
Level: All levels
Content
1. Introduction to GeoTinta
• GeoTinta as a living, ancestral, and contemporary practice
• The earth as an artistic language
• Sensory activation: presence, touch, and breathing to connect with matter
2. Extraction and Preparation of Natural Pigments
• Identification of soils, stones, and oxides
• Cleaning, drying, grinding, and sieving
• Chromatic, textural, and energetic observation of matter
3. Preparation of Painting Materials
• Artisanal preparation of:
✧ Natural nankin ink
✧ Egg tempera
✧ Natural watercolor with gum arabic
✧ Oil with linseed oil
• Free exploration of the techniques developed
• Initial application to a support to activate the stroke with earth
4. Closing and Sharing
• Open dialogue about discoveries and creative processes
• Symbolic closure: delivery of pigment as a reminder of the process experienced
Register
Each preparation will be made from mineral pigments extracted manually, with respect and awareness of the territory.
A unique opportunity to connect with ancestral techniques and create art with natural materials.
Total cost: 600 pesos per person. ~30 USD.
Live this transformative experience and learn the ancient art of creating colors directly from the earth!
Learn more about GeoTinta
GeoTinta
GeoTinta is an artistic practice that combines ancestral knowledge with contemporary techniques.
Led by Verónica Virreira and Cuauhtémoc Velázquez, experts in traditional pigment preparation techniques.
This methodology seeks to reconnect artists with primary materials and natural creation processes.
About Verónica Virreira:
Verónica Virreira is a Bolivian visual artist and watercolorist. She studied Graphic Design and completed an MBA with a specialization in marketing at Harvard University, as well as a Master's in Visual Arts in Florence, Italy. Her work explores surrealism through mineral pigments, oxides, and natural earths. She researches color as a living matter in dialogue with geology, memory, and the dreamlike.
She was recognized as Artist of the Year 2020 by Art Gallery (Italy).
She has exhibited in Bolivia, Brazil, Spain, USA, Portugal, and Italy among others, and offers international workshops focused on experimental watercolor and art connected with nature.
About Cuauhtémoc Velázquez:
Cuauhtémoc Velázquez Luna is originally from Guanajuato, Mexico, where he completed his studies as an architect and has complemented his training with a diploma in visual arts from the State Institute of Culture and University of Knowledge (1998), to finally dedicate himself to his artistic vocation as a painter and professor in teaching arts at the University of Guanajuato.
Throughout his career, he has participated in over 150 collective exhibitions and has held various solo exhibitions in recognized spaces such as the Diego Rivera House Museum and the León City Museum, establishing himself as a reference in the watercolor technique.
He has won the National Watercolor Tlacuilo award three times (1997, 2012, 2013) awarded by the National Watercolor Museum and received honorable mentions in various international biennials.
He has received honorable mentions awarded by both the Mexican Society of Watercolorists and the National Watercolor Museum, as well as the 'One Day One Watercolor' award organized by the MAEM.
Velázquez Luna has received numerous recognitions for his artistic work, such as the Tlacuilo Trophy.
Additionally, he has been a recipient of scholarships from the State Institute of Culture of Guanajuato and has served as president and founder of the Association of Watercolorists of the State of Guanajuato since 2010.
In 2015, he won the First Prize in the landscape category in St. Petersburg, Russia.
In 2019, he won the First Prize in the landscape category at the Tláloc Award 2021, organized by the State of Mexico Watercolor Museum.
In 2024, he won the First Prize at La magia de Totora, the 4th International Watercolor Biennial Kipus Bolivia.
He has served as a juror in multiple national and international competitions.
His work has been exhibited internationally in countries such as Italy, Germany, South Korea, and Thailand, participating in important events like the World Watermedia Exposition and the International Watercolor Biennial.
In the academic field, he has taught classes at the University of Guanajuato and has offered numerous watercolor workshops and courses at various cultural institutions in Mexico.
As a juror, he has collaborated in national and international competitions, highlighting his participation in events organized by the International Watercolor Society and the Euroasian Art Union.
Additionally, he has been a speaker at various institutions and has shared his knowledge through live painting demonstrations.
His dedication to art and teaching has established him as a reference in the world of watercolor, combining his artistic sensitivity with a deep commitment to the dissemination of visual arts in Mexico and abroad.
