DeCastro’s mixed media abstracts are characterized by large, bright, energetic compositions on canvas and paper – an unexpected response to a troubling world.

"A year-and-a-half ago, I went into my studio and began feverishly mixing bright colors and slapping them on the canvas in bold, angry strokes. I let the paint weep for me," says DeCastro. "I didn’t pre-visualize what I wanted these paintings to be, allowing everything to occur intuitively and spontaneously."

What resulted was a total surprise to the artist – a series of paintings that on first glance appear to be positive, joyous and playful. On close examination, however, she finds evidence of the confusion, conflict and tension of the times. Gravity is reversed with a heavier visual load carried at the top of many of the compositions. Heavily rendered black symbols violate brightly colored spaces, while tightly rendered shapes compete with random sprays and drips of color in a search for simplicity and spontaneity. "There was an intense need for something to balance what I was feeling," says DeCastro. "These paintings reflect the search for balance."