Gisela
Montalvo

Gisela Montalvo is a Bronx-based painter. She has been painting her cats, Mara and Canela, as her theme for years.

“I love taking care of my cats. I love them! That’s why I paint them,” she says.

As a matter of her process, Gisela first layers canvas or paper with subdued hues of maroon, orange, purple and pink, with sections of brighter colors like lemon yellow or sky blue. She then adds color with contrasting paint markers of varied thickness and uses oil pastels to outline the figures.

When the viewer peers closely into the floral backdrops she commonly adds to her artwork, they might find the eyes of Gisela’s beloved cats peering back at them.