After moving from his home in Estelí, Nicaragua, Marcio Díaz was inspired by the depth of color he saw in the rain-soaked landscape of the Pacific Northwest. His early work was primarily rural scenes infused with warm color and a hint of surreal mystery. Now viewing the world through drops of rain, Díaz began to experiment with abstract painting to express the deeper, richer tones he found in the landscapes of Washington State. Díaz continues to use a variety of techniques in his work, capturing light, color, and emotion through brushstrokes and layering. Díaz's lastest series is an abstract, textural departure from the 'Bubblism' style he has developed since moving to the United States. Over a background of painted ‘bubbles’ and circles, thick paint rises from the surface of each painting in points and stalagmites, ‘dropped’ on the canvas from the tube and shaped by the artist. This unique texture was inspired by Diaz's childhood memories of the sacred ceiba tree found throughout Latin America. Growing up in Nicaragua, Diaz would touch the rough, thorny bark of the ceiba, a tropical tree with great symbolic importance to the ancient Maya. In the Mayan language, Yax Che (“Green Tree” or “First Tree”) is a symbol of the universe and a route of communication between earth, the underworld, and the heavens. Marcio Díaz has achieved wide recognition in his twenty-plus years as a painter. In Nicaragua he won several national art awards, received recognition from the Ministry for the Cultural Advancement, and hosted his own art television show. In the United States he has exhibited on the west coast, as well as in Scottsdale and New York City. Díaz returns to Nicaragua every year to exhibit his work, teach art classes, and aspires to open an art school for youth. "His painting method is a bright-hued variation on the pointillism of Seurat, building an image from vibrant circles of color... The tensions between shimmer and almost-solid objects are exquisite." - Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times