Ablution is a series of paintings that derive from performances that submerges the body into specific sites, addressing rituals of cleansing and maintenance, focusing on gender, labor, sexuality and race. What does it mean to be clean in today’s society? Using water as a metaphor for purity, and playing an ironic dirty twist for ”wetback”, these performances dive into history’s religious transformation from paganism; water as a symbol for fertility and strength, then into Catholicism; washing away our guilt, deconstructing a watered down identity as a bicultural immigrant. No matter how much we try to sculpt our own identities and bodies through repetitive actions, our reflection unto society can always be distorted and broken up through people’s own perceptions. Via Juxtapoz.
inspiration art diary 
Stephane Daury
/ July 23, 2012So cool to find this in my WordPress.com Reader! Ana’s a friend of mine. Her [awesome] paintings are only part of what her work spans. 🙂
kachina6046
/ July 23, 2012Wow. Your work is really amazing. Is this oil or acrylic?
edi cavalcante
/ July 23, 2012Muito impressionante.
ecodolphin
/ July 23, 2012Simply incredible! Cannot believe my eyes that these are paintings.
Nicolle
/ July 23, 2012These are absolutely beautiful! They all look like photos.
accountkeepingplus
/ July 23, 2012Enjoyed seeing your exquisite work
Michelle Fitzurka
/ July 23, 2012Ana’s work is stunning! I will have to look for more of her work – thanks for introducing her talent to me!
jmsabbagh
/ July 23, 2012Fascinating art, so alive.Wishing you world wide success. Jalal Michael
minisparrow
/ July 23, 2012I really enjoyed these, they’re beautiful!!
The Anticipation
/ July 23, 2012This is beautiful, very creative.
Lauren
/ July 23, 2012Simply stunning!
Shane
/ July 23, 2012wooow.. this is beautiful………. i cant believe that a painting
perspectiveandwords
/ July 23, 2012I saw this paintings long ago on the internet and I was instantly impressed!! I love her work, I paint as well but my work is far away from the quality of her paintings. I wonder how long does it takes her to paint one piece. She is amazing, God bless that talent of hers.
At Home With God
/ July 23, 2012I’ve never seen a artistic genre like this. How interesting and vivid!
ridobrown
/ July 23, 2012waooo.. fantastic… nice picture…
APOML
/ July 23, 2012Wow. Amazing
Peauxetic Expressions
/ July 23, 2012I absolutely LOVE your artwork!! Never seen anything quite like it. Thanks for sharing!
anita
/ July 23, 2012Holy smokes!
Rachel's Cottage House
/ July 23, 2012lifelike paintings?! seriously, this artwork is amazing. reminds me of animae (idk spelling) but not. very cool.
RoniLynn
/ July 23, 2012Whoa! These are unbelievable! I keep staring at them over and over again. So lifelike that I’m waiting for the subjects to move!! GREAT stuff!
interpretations7
/ July 24, 2012You have amazing work. Отлично !
Mikalee Byerman
/ July 24, 2012I can’t even imagine having that much talent — thank you for sharing!
Richard McCargar
/ July 24, 2012Very cool, and congrats on being freshly pressed.
akadonsky
/ July 24, 2012Thanks, Richard!
Rem Lee
/ July 24, 2012Awesome. Looks more like an HDR abused photo.
Kennedy
/ July 24, 2012Fantastic art! So glad I was plunking around in WordPress today.
lapuertaentornada
/ July 24, 2012You really got me here. I thought they were photographs! Simply love it. Keep the excellent work up!
modern classic furniture
/ July 24, 2012beautiful art..!!!
angela3619
/ July 24, 2012wow, stunning images, you are a talented artist thank you for being generous and sharing your creative gift.
Karen
/ July 24, 2012Absolutely gorgeous!
Shooken
/ July 24, 2012Reblogged this on shooken and commented:
Holy Crap! This is amazing!!
arul
/ July 24, 2012incredible
The Flaneur
/ July 24, 2012Reblogged this on To Flaneur and commented:
Woah. This is phenomenal.
Imaginarium of Pau
/ July 24, 2012Pure talent! This art pieces are very impressive. Thanks for sharing!
strefainteraktywna
/ July 24, 2012Great works, really! I’m impressed!
Elly Trang (@ellytrang)
/ July 24, 2012Love it. Fantastic art
Pedro Alvarez Fotografía
/ July 24, 2012Unas imágenes excelentes!!!
seattleinspired
/ July 24, 2012Reblogged this on seattleinspired and commented:
xx
Claude The Muse
/ July 24, 2012Amazing!
relocatetopanama
/ July 24, 2012Really Awesome Work
mindfulness4now
/ July 24, 2012Wow to Ana’s work and wow to you for ur blog site. I have to say that becos blogging is so often a verbal arena to discover this break from words and to have the pleasure of the visual and being able to sit with the feelings evoked, the beauty of form and colour and the movement was a joy. Thks Leanne (PS Congrats on FP)
itssrijana
/ July 24, 2012beauuuuuuuuuuuuutiful paintings i thought they were photos awesome
J O I C E Blog
/ July 24, 2012Reblogged this on Joice'sBlog.
thecontradictoryoptimist
/ July 24, 2012Wow!! It’s hard to say it’s not a photograph.
inmyinternest
/ July 24, 2012These are beautiful and yet somehow distressing. Interesting work!
The Other Me
/ July 24, 2012Makes me feel ever so slightly inadequate. Amazing!
laurakrystle
/ July 24, 2012Reblogged this on LauraKrystle.
JP
/ July 24, 2012I love your artworks. So much intriguing! The way you express there really absorbs my mind.
cupcakeangelprincess
/ July 24, 2012Amazinggggggggggggg
Angie Hottentots-Laurel
/ July 24, 2012I wish I could paint like that. The two paintings of the woman swimming in high heels are awesome. 😀
cartoonmick
/ July 24, 2012Your treatment of the waters surface and the lights reaction with it is awesome.
Brilliant work !!!
Ann
/ July 24, 2012WOW! I can’t believe that these are paintings. It looks so real and so lifelike. Even after reading the title, I checked four or five times to make sure that they are paintings. Still I am not convinced! Amazing! Congrats on being Freshly Pressed!
Chicken Nuggets and Elmo
/ July 24, 2012I love paintings like this. Thanks for sharing them, and congrats on getting Freshly Pressed!
segmation
/ July 24, 2012Hi Alexis,What awesome art! Ana Teresa Fernandez is inspiring. Where does she show her artwork? http://www.segmation.wordpress.com
susan sheldon nolen
/ July 24, 2012just stunning!
Dounia
/ July 24, 2012Wow, those paintings are amazing. It’s really impressive how much they look like photos. Thanks for sharing and congrats on being freshly pressed!
akadonsky
/ July 24, 2012Thanks everyone, such an honor to be Fresh Pressed! Ana’s work is truly amazing! I have contacted her in hopes that she can also appreciate all of your praise. If you guys want to see more, here is a link to her website:
http://anateresafernandez.com/
Enjoy!!
Kayleigh Tanner
/ July 24, 2012These are gorgeous!
nyparrot
/ July 24, 2012Super cool photos!
nyparrot
/ July 24, 2012Wait… those are paintings… WOW!!
kristennemarie
/ July 24, 2012Wonderful paintings!
andy
/ July 24, 2012Thank you for sharing ,i like nice post
Java Girl
/ July 24, 2012Incredible! How she paints the water is amazing! Thanks for sharing! 😉
mirrormon
/ July 24, 2012Beautiful
nazarioartpainting
/ July 24, 2012Nice look real.
Brett Higham
/ July 24, 2012Some ridiculous paintings!
pyrgia
/ July 24, 2012In a worid where photography is thriving, the painbtings are surprisingly different and artistic.
dfmw
/ July 24, 2012Reblogged this on dfmw and commented:
some brilliant realism
chitchat140
/ July 24, 2012Reblogged this on Re Imaged and commented:
Life, art & blogs
Constance V. Walden
/ July 24, 2012Excellent work. Connie
http://7thandvine.wordpress.com/
felpart
/ July 24, 2012Reblogged this on f e l p A R T.
#1kid
/ July 24, 2012wow. wow! WOW!!! These are awesome! they look so real! Great work!
Hevel Löwen
/ July 24, 2012Reblogged this on The Realm of Wonder and commented:
Nice!
ronyshapira
/ July 24, 2012wow these are beautiful!!
the colors and textures are so vivid!!
thanks for sharing 🙂
http://wattwewear.wordpress.com/
jdtphotography.co.uk
/ July 24, 2012Absolutely stunning. These images really make you stop, look and look again. Fascinating work
photographybycalliec
/ July 24, 2012This is the coolest art work I have ever seen, you are good keep the great work up.Cheers Callie
charlottesrow
/ July 24, 2012These are amazing! You have inspired me as a writer with these. I write experimental poetry and I think these will provide me with some great ideas! Thank you.
charlottesrow
/ July 24, 2012Reblogged this on Charlottes Row Blog and commented:
This is such a beautiful and inspiring post!
artisticxpress5823
/ July 24, 2012These truly are beautiful, reflective pieces Ana. You should be proud that you are both a technically talented artist and an effective story teller.
Well done!
Jacqueline
/ July 24, 2012Powerful!
mpwgraphics
/ July 24, 2012Outstanding pieces. The realism is amazing, I am just waiting for the subjects to start moving. Truly one of the most talented artists I’ve seen in a long time.
Laura2012520
/ July 24, 2012amazing ~~~~~
Martyn Thompson
/ July 25, 2012Wow!
Alyssa
/ July 25, 2012Awesome! Looks incredibly real; who would’ve thought that these are paintings. 😀
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vincedicaro
/ July 25, 2012Clap clap clap, amazing paintings ^_____^
Red Toenails
/ July 25, 2012Very beautiful art. It is also nice to hear the inspiration behind such are as well. Very interesting.
Panfilo Castaldi
/ July 25, 2012Beautiful paintings, achieving that hyperreal quality that is more life like than life.
Kalliope Amorphous
/ July 25, 2012The third one is incredibly beautiful.
Simple Heart Girl
/ July 25, 2012Amazing!
lilybunny5
/ July 25, 2012I love the one in the bathtub as I was looking at the description I completely felt like i understood it. I am not particularly religious in the conventional way, but I love the context and concept of these paintings. really beautiful and honest work.
Shannon Scheidell
/ July 25, 2012Reblogged this on The Nerd Word and commented:
Bellissima.
everythingilluminate
/ July 25, 2012your art work is amazing!
jpbohannon
/ July 26, 2012Beautiful and extraordinary. I have written Ana’s name in my (pen and paper) notebook and will keep my eye out for anything she does. Truly marvelous paintings.
bodyhackonversation
/ July 26, 2012they give me tranquillity
like it
http://bodyhackonversation.wordpress.com/
angel f. matamoros
/ August 1, 2012Amazing! The colors are so beautiful as well.
firstthinginthemorning
/ August 2, 2012this is awesome!!
studiothirstycrow
/ August 4, 2012❤❤❤❤