Marisa Ruiz

Photographer · Visual artist · Graphic designer

Colorete brings together more than 25 years of working with images. My queens grow out of a professional life devoted to photography, graphic design and visual storytelling—and the knowledge of light, colour, composition and makeup that I have developed along the way.

A life behind the image

I trained at the School of Arts of Gran Canaria, studying drawing, graphic design, photography and art history. My career has developed between Spain and Germany, through projects for hotels, fashion, brands, companies and private clients.

I ran my own photographic studio and worked across fashion, portraiture and catalogue photography, in the studio and on location. Alongside graphic design and visual communication, I have created photography and video for businesses and managed their social media. These disciplines have taught me to develop an idea, shape its visual identity and carry it through to the finished image.

Recognition and experience

In 2018, I won Barceló Group’s global Best Practice award with a photographic exhibition recognised for its originality in a competition involving 90 hotels worldwide. The project was featured in the press, and six hotels in the Canary Islands subsequently commissioned the exhibition for their spaces.

That award forms part of a longer career that has also brought recognition for other projects. The experience behind Colorete has been built over years of commissions, independent work and the daily practice of creating images.

From photography to the queens

The Queen Collection imagines cities as women. Architecture becomes a crown; the atmosphere and identity of a place take shape in a portrait. Art Deco elegance, Cubist geometry and sculptural forms meet in compositions built around light and colour.

My photographic background guides the lighting, the balance of the portrait and the illusion of depth. My design experience shapes the geometry, proportions and relationship between every element. My knowledge of makeup informs the queens’ faces: the blush, the eyes, the colour of the lips and the way light defines their features. Each choice contributes to their character.

I bring these skills together through photographic material, digital tools, painterly elements and careful composition. The queens are the result of this accumulated visual knowledge, developed into a personal artistic language.

Art with a presence of its own

I want each work to hold the eye from a distance and reward a closer look. Colour, luminous contrasts and faceted forms create a sense of depth and a distinctive presence within a space. I personally review and prepare each print, keeping the intention of the image at the centre of the process.

Colorete is the continuation of my creative life: art with an identity, a story and a place of its own.

— Marisa Ruiz
Founder & artist, Colorete

Explore the Queen Collection →