Maria 'Toofly' Castillo, Brave Souls Illuminate Showcase @ Fifty24LA Gallery

Last week, Toofly opened her first solo show, Brave Souls Illuminate FIFTY24LA Gallery.   When I arrived,  I was greeted by Melinda and Krista, and they shot me straight to her work. I took tons of photographs and with each snap and click, I came to appreciate her ‘around the way girl’ characters she is infamous for, more and more. Not being familiar with her work, I took to it almost instantly. The boldness and certainty of her paint, as well as pencil strokes, are evidence of the woman’s skill. I looked at each piece closely, scanning each image, her technique and found nothing but precision, particularly in her pencil works.

Before I knew it, the Fifty24LA Gallery was beaming with ordinary art lovers and fans alike. Satisfied with the photos taken, I was ready to meet this formidable female. Nervous and not really knowing what to expect from a heavyweight street artist such as herself, my nerves were laid to rest the instant we met. Toofly was humble, down-to-earth and a true reflection of her ‘around the way’ characters she paints. So much so that, before I could even ask to take photographs of her, she quickly offered to let me shoot her in front of her amazing art.

Maria 'Toofly' Castillo, Brave Souls Illuminate Showcase @ Fifty24LA Gallery

What I found particularly refreshing, was seeing that Toofly had placed an A4 notebook for all the visitors to ‘tag’ and leave her a message of some sort. This worked out to be a fantastic idea, because many people spent quiet a bit of time flexing their tagging skills in the hopes of impressing Maria herself.

Meeting Maria ‘TooFly’ Castillo was inspiring to say the very least. The woman is a professional and represents women extremely well with grace, humility and extra freshness, it’s no wonder she is seen as a Woman Making History, by M.I.S.S.

Photography by  Melinda Sanchez & Urbanmosadi

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