Dora Alis Mera Velasco
Here’s an artist I’d call a Great Mistress of painting. I find Dora Alis’s portraits to be brimming with innocence, sensitivity, and stunning realism. I feel as if the children depicted in her works see into the depths of my soul, bringing out all my vulnerabilities, especially those linked to my childhood.
As soon as my eyes fell on Dora Alis’s art, I knew I had to contact her and ask her to exhibit her masterpieces here. Although Dora Alis speaks little English, and my Spanish is mediocre, we managed to overcome the language barrier (thanks to machine translation 😊).
As a result, Dora Alis was kind enough to send me the information (in Spanish and English) that I had requested from her to write this article.
From an early age, Dora Alis loved drawing and coloring. She was all the more motivated to perfect her art and to resemble her older brothers, who were very good draughtsmen. She took painting courses at art school and had private tutors, but her dedication to art, disciplined practice, and experimentation also contributed strongly to her artistic development.
Although she has always enjoyed painting children, her main inspiration for painting African children has been her husband, who has always been very supportive. It was in his honor that she launched her Portraits of Innocence collection in 2009, focusing on African children.
Her work is inspired by the beauty of innocence and the purity of a child’s heart. Her greatest desire is to reach this state of inner purity, and this is what she strives to express through her work (which I think she does with extraordinary finesse).
The beauty of black children is the predominant theme of her work; she specifically aims to capture the beauty of dark-skinned children using different painting techniques.
Her main goal is to help the viewer reconnect with their inner self, their true essence. Through her art, Dora Alis hopes that every human being will be able to reclaim the happy, innocent child within.
She also wants to create a complete audiovisual method or guide that explains, step by step, the various techniques for painting portraits of black children.
Dora Alis, your art is undeniably sublime and I hope you will continue to share it with us. Thank you so much.
To purchase one or more of her breathtaking works or commission her, contact her here:
Instagram: @dora.alis
Facebook: @dora.alis
Location: Bogotá (Colombia)