Maribel Vargas Moses

Maribel's First Painting (1982)

Maribel was born in San Jose, Costa Rica in late1961. Currently she is resident of Encinitas, California.

At the age of 18 years, she married  and moved to the United States and later gave birth to a  daughter born in 1982. It was during this year that a friend gifted her with a box of acrylic paints and she had the opportunity to start painting. Most of the paintings were performed to be used as gifts for her friends or as requests by family.  She painted a set of 3 painting with a Asian motive that marked her first sale by one of her family acquaintances.

During those years Maribel resided in Jackson, Mississippi and completed her education and became a licensed Cosmetologist practicing for several years and added to her family with the birth of her first son.. Her art continued fundamentally painting as a hobby, gifting her works to family and friends. In early 90’s Maribel was asked by the World Beauty Pageant Queen winner, Ms. Pamela Neil to paint some primitive art work who purchased two pieces personally. It was at that particular time that Maribel considered presenting her work to the public at the Nouveau Art Gallery exhibiting works of primitive art styles from her childhood roots from being raised in Costa Rica, Central America.  While serving as the President of the International Club (1995-1996) Maribel donated some of her paintings to a several causes for fund raising purposes. (March of Dimes, Heart Society, AIDS Benefits, and the Battered Women Shelter located in Pearl, MS)

Maribel then moved to Florida for a period of 7 years, making friends with the International Painter and Artist, Roci Micelli from Venezuela and, while working in proximity with Roci, continued to improve the individual style using the Primitive Art paintings reflective of her childhood in Costa Rica.

Moving then to California and beginning a new life, she joined with Pam Nelson, an artist from Chicago, in the spring of 2010 to paint a mural in the hospital of Cerro Azul in Tecate, Mexico while Maribel was involved with a medical mission that she and her husband hosted together with Smiles International Foundation.

It was after that trip that Maribel became inspired to further her painting expressions. At first she reproduced the style of her previous works and then, created paintings of individual women, alone and nude. It was then that Maribel’s spark of an idea arrived to paint children, flowers and dogs for the purpose of charitable contribution as a branch of the Smiles International Foundation.

During that time-frame she showed her art in several different venues and locations; several times in San Diego, Los Angeles and Las Vegas at events entitled “Achieve Your Ultimate Success”, as well as in Seattle, Washington and Calvary, Alberta Canada. Additionally, Maribel has presented to the Carlsbad Rotary Club on Art-for-Smiles with the Smiles International Foundation and successfully auctioned a sizable painting for charitable purposes there. Internationally, Maribel has shown her art in Tecate, Mexico at the Tecate Rotary annual fund-raising event, “The Summer Dance”.  Most recently, Maribel has exhibited her works to support locally for the Oceanside Charity, “Kids Expression Foundation” October 8, 2011 in Oceanside California at Art Clash, Artists and Writers Fair.

It was in the Fall of 2010 that Maribel turned her attention to painting the “Elders”,  as they have always touched her heart as much as the children. She feverishly painted none-stop for several months and completed 42 portraits representing International faces, some of which were taken from photographs of individuals met during her frequent International travels for the Medical Mission work she co-hosted with her husband with Smiles International Foundation.  Others, she researched to make sure that she was able to capture the features and details of the country. She calls this art display “Around the World”. Maribel truly believes that it is through our differences that beauty is allowed to show itself and we expand as humans through what we offer one another.