El Saltito - an abstract series by Suzette Alvarez

The El Saltito series is inspired by the rugged serenity of my favourite beach near my home in La Paz, Baja Sur. These works draw from the elemental textures of the coastline—sand, rock, salt, and sea. Rusted ochres echo the desert cliffs and sunbaked pathways; deep turquoise and indigo mirror the Sea of Cortez as it shifts with light and time. Each surface is intentionally raw, tactile—bearing the layered memory of a landscape that leaves its mark long after you leave.

The pieces are painted on double-primed cotton canvas using layered acrylics. Some textures appear almost geological, like weathered strata; others feel like sky meeting sea.

About the Prints

The featured prints below are intentional excerpts from one larger original canvas. Each snippet was carefully framed and photographed to capture a distinct mood, moment, or colour story—while still belonging to the whole. Think of them as quiet windows into the larger memory of the place that inspired them.

A few subtle ripples in the fabric may appear—this is part of the raw, unstretched state of the original piece and reflects the material honesty of the work as it lived in the studio.

Note: The original El Saltito canvas (36” x 65”) is part of the artist’s personal collection and is not available for sale. This large-format work represents an intimate study of place, memory, and elemental texture—offering a visual record of the artist’s ongoing relationship with the land and sea.

Open and limited-edition prints from this series will be available soon. To be notified when prints are released—or to inquire about a specific excerpt—please contact us or join the studio list.

About the Original

The full El Saltito canvas is shown here. It remains unstretched, photographed in its natural state, and is part of the artist’s personal collection. Size: 36” x 65” | Acrylic on double - primed cotton canvas | Unstretched

Limited Edition Series –
Collector’s Selections

A select few prints from the El Saltito series will be released as limited-edition collector pieces—larger in scale, fewer in number, and available only once.

These editions offer a deeper, more immersive view into the work—ideal for collectors seeking something exclusive and lasting. Each print will be part of a hand-numbered edition and produced using archival materials to preserve texture, depth, and detail.

The works featured here are planned for future release in sizes ranging from 16x20” to 36x65”, and will be accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity.

Note: Quantities will be limited. Join the studio list to be among the first notified when these editions are available.

Behind the Canvas

Though inspired by the warm, rusted cliffs and turquoise waters of El Saltito Beach in Baja Sur, this series came to life in my sunlit studio at Villa Sol, on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. I live between both places—Baja and BC—and this series holds the textures of one and the quiet making of the other.

I painted this piece on unstretched, double-primed cotton canvas, laid across a simple plywood table set on sawhorses. The process is slow and physical, built from layered washes, stained textures, and color pulled from memory.

My studio looks out over the ocean. As I paint, I’m often accompanied by the sound of waves, the call of birds, and the occasional silhouette of a boat drifting past. These moments shape the work as much as the materials—anchoring the abstract in the rhythm of real life.

What follows is a glimpse into that process—not just technique, but ritual. The marks, movements, and quiet repetitions that shape each finished piece.

El Saltito Beach lives just outside La Paz, Baja Sur, tucked between desert cliffs and the shifting blues of the Sea of Cortez. It’s one of those places that stays with you—sun-soaked, quiet, alive with color and stillness.

The textures I saw there—rusted rock, bleached stone, soft sand, turquoise water—embedded themselves in my memory. I didn’t take notes. I didn’t sketch. I just absorbed.

These photos weren’t taken with the intention to “capture” the place—only to remember it. They are the beginning of the El Saltito series, even if the painting happened much later, in a different place.

Here, you can see some of the land and sea that shaped the palette, the textures, and the emotional undertone of the work.