Sandra Belitza-Vazquez

Vibrant Visions of Nature in Scannography

Sandra Belitza-Vazquez, sandyscan.com, is a multiple award-winning internationally recognized artist. She shares the beauty she discovers in the world in breathtaking photographic images. Her art is characterized by vibrant colors and dramatic compositions that immediately capture our attention and hold our interest.

Sandra is equally proficient in creating traditional photographs and an exciting and eclectic mix of subjects in her scanner photography. Heavily influenced by the paintings of the Dutch masters, her scans emphasize rich colors, dark backgrounds, and natural light.

She describes this series as “My modern take on the Old Dutch Master style.”

Banner image: Detail of  “Autumn Memories”, scanner photography.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DO NOT REPRODUCE IMAGES WITHOUT THE ARTIST’S PERMISSION.

Blown Away, scanner photography, available in different sizes

Sandra has participated in over 100 solo, juried, and member group art exhibits in the U.S. and Mexico, including the Howland Art Center in Beacon, NY; Decode Gallery in Tucson, Arizona; Photo Place Gallery in Middlebury, Vermont; the National Museum of Anthropology and History in Mexico City, and The Casa de la Cultura in Puebla, Mexico, where she had a solo exhibition in November 2024 of 50 prints from her book “Huey Atlixcayotl – The Art in the Gaze.”

Her “Spring Growth” scanner photograph won the Juror’s Award in the Garrison Art Center’s International Biennial exhibition “smallWorks: 60 Years & 60 Artists,” in November 2024, and participated in the seven-person “Focus on Photographers” Invitational exhibition at the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon, NY, that included a multiple-Pulitzer Prize winner and a World Press Photographer of the Year award-winner.

From Beginning to End, scanner photography, available in different sizes

Sandra’s many online exhibitions include Manhattan Arts International’s “Love, Peace, Unity & Hope” 2025 Invitational, “The Healing Power of Art Inspired by Nature” 2024 Exhibition, “HerStory,” 2024, “The Spirit of Resilience,” and “The Healing Power of Color,” in which she received several Awards of Excellence.

She also exhibited in the Emerge Gallery’s “Food for Thought”, “Art and Words”, “Best in Show”, “Snap: Cell Phone Photography” exhibitions.

In November 2023, Sandra’s book Huey Atlixcayotl – The Art in the Gaze, documenting the indigenous dance festival of the state of Puebla, was published by the Cultural Department of the state of Puebla, Mexico. In 2021 and 2022 the National Wildlife Federation chose two of her photographs for greeting cards.

Crabapple & Black Walnut Friendship, scanner photography, available in different sizes

Inspired and mentored by a master of scanography in November 2020, Sandra added scanner photography to her photographic arsenal as a new avenue of expression. She explains that with this medium of photography, “I have found a way to extend my curiosity and artistic sensitivity by creating new worlds of expression to obtain creations full of life and beauty that began in my mind’s eye and invite exploration by the viewer.”

She tells us, “Rather than waiting for the perfect light, the decisive moment of action, or searching for a particular composition that adequately expresses my reaction to a scene, I create the scene.”

Playful Together, scanner photography, available in different sizes.

She remarks, “The textures and vibrant colors of objects not commonly found together in nature create new and surprising visual worlds that are beautiful and sometimes playful and whimsical.”

Sandra exudes, “I see possibilities for new creations everywhere around me – flowering weeds, mushrooms, feathers, acorns, pinecones, walnuts, moss-covered tree bark, dead insects, and even empty bird nests that continually invite my inspection and collection. With objects in hand, the creative process begins. The possible arrangements by color, size, and combination of things not commonly found together in nature become the pre-visualizations of a final image. The creations express joy, freedom, gracefulness, reflection, and contemplation.”

Dried Leaves 2, scanner photography, available in different sizes

Sandra takes her time and skillful means seriously when creating her scanner photography. She explains, “There may be many iterations before a composition adequately expresses what I had in mind when I brought the objects to the scanner. The design of complex scenes is made more difficult because it is achieved by placing objects upside-down on the scanner’s glass surface.”

She states, “Through this new medium of photography, I have found a way to extend my curiosity and artistic sensitivity by using this mechanical process to obtain creations full of life and beauty that began in my mind’s eye and invite exploration by the viewer.”

Sandra received her B.A. in Anthropology from Queens College of the City University of New York and her Master’s in Anthropology from the University of the Americas in Puebla, Mexico. She has explored the world around her, documenting life in indigenous communities, dance festivals, archaeological sites, African wildlife, and nature’s wondrous and vibrant world.

Sandra’s art has appeared in several articles on this website including “Art Transforms Rooms & Art Transforms Lives” and “Artist Members Share Praise They Received for Their Art”. 

Visit Sandra Belitza-Vazquez’s website: sandyscan.com

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