La Ventanita

La Ventanita
Oil on canvas 30”x30”


When my studio announced the theme of the Art-Expo this year, I spent two weeks thinking, going over several ideas that interested me, mainly the ones on nature: birds, Biscayne Bay, Crandon Beach, the sunrise, the sunsets, and even the bike riders along the Rickenbacker Causeway. This county is full of beauty and the search for a theme that tells all about it was overwhelming.

What could represent Miami-Dade for me? A question came to my mind… When do you know you are not in Miami-Dade County, especially if you are north of the county? It is at the end of a meal at a restaurant and you ask for a “cortadito” and they look at you, stunned, and say, “corta-what”??

Cortaditos are served everywhere in the county. However, the most genuine ones are sold at the ventanitas found all over, but mainly around Little Havana neighborhood, west of downtown Miami. You can find these windows one after another and it’s amazing that although they look so much alike, they each have their own flair, their own identity. Some things are the same: the window is always open, the water cooler, free for anyone, the espresso machine behind the counter, the white Styrofoam cups and the tops, tapitas, the Spanish-English mixed signage. It holds a very informal setting, at the same time inviting you for a quick chat either with the coffee maker or with another customer.

So the idea behind the Ventanita is not so much what it looks but what it represents. It’s a Cuban invention in Miami. Probably – this is my reasoning – they did it to congregate, to talk about their homeland, to welcome the newly-arrived. So, with the same spirit, I also welcome you to this blog and I hope you enjoy a little journey into my world.

Miami, November 8th, 2008

Summer 2008

Summer is almost gone. I started this painting at the beginning of the season, thinking of the refreshing concept that oranges, grapefruit, limes, and lemons bring to people's minds. At the end they might look like the old-fashioned hard candy we used to buy at the local general stores wherever we were. Slices of lime are added to drinks, grapefruit is good for the flu, OJ is the fruit juice mostly sold worldwide and lemons sometimes remind you of the bitter moments we have to go through in life. However, we have to turn things around and think positively. As they say in Brazil, "se o destino te der um limao, faca uma caipirinha" ("if fate gives you a lime, make a caipirinha" (Brazilian national popular drink). Let's see what the Fall will bring.

PAY ATTENTION!

How many times have we heard from our parents or teachers, "boy, girl, pay attention!"? When I created the paintings below, I was inspired by playful thoughts, thinking of students who are very creative and intelligent, but at the same time cannot hold their attention on a speech, especially if it is delivered without special effects. They tend to let their imagination run far away. A child may have a notebook paper in his hands and make a boat and in his own special world, place it on the ocean, or be in a Math class and make an airplane and send it through the mysterious and endless space. The cut-out paper dolls was my own way to avoid boredom, but in this case, the notebook paper was also painted.

Key Biscayne, Paradise on Canvas

The first three paintings are not part of Key Biscayne, but you have to go through them from mainland to get to our paradise. Then you will see our beach, the golf course, the light house, the treasures we appreciate year-round. Please enjoy them as much as we Key Biscayners do.

Yellow Ribbon

Yellow Ribbon

The first time I saw a yellow ribbon round a tree was when I came to the US for the first time after the Iran hostage crisis (1979-1981.) I learned it served as a symbol of welcome for the hostages who were held at the embassy in Tehran. Then I learned more about it: there was a popular song called “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree”, written by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown and recorded by Tony Orlando and Dawn. The song has a nice rhythm which you can check at
http://www.geocities.com/holidaysfun/ribbon.html

(copy and paste, please)
The story is about a man who leaves prison and who requested his wife or girlfriend to indicate that she wanted him back by tying a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree in front of her home. If he could see the ribbon from the bus in which he would be traveling he would know she still wanted him.
This painting was based on the above but also on the pictures I see of troops coming back home from Iraq in the last years. The yellow ribbon is not only a sign of welcome for the one who’s returning but also a sign of loyalty of the one who waited.

When the sun rises in Key Biscayne...

In a Science fair project, we have the constant and variables. The same happens when the sun rises on Crandon Beach. The constant elements are the beach - shore and ocean- and the sun, which no matter what, always rises. The variables are the weather - wind, clouds, rain, which either let the sun light out totally or partially or completely hide it from view. Enough about this. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, here you have seventeen thousand words that humbly quiet me, each one a perfect gift from above...

- click on image to see it larger -

PEOPLE'S FACES

Painting faces has always been a daring experience for me. So far I have chosen people who are either close to me or whose faces are a challenge to my skill. Some times I don't reach my goal, but in the process I learn many things, patience and frustration management among them. I am pleased to introduce "my people" to you.

Lucia, a sweet girl, in my own very private eyes

Unknown mouth and nose

Sometimes details tells more than the whole face

A famous look - who knows him? Disguised by himself

Michael in New York enjoying a happy free ride

Atsuko, Michael's high school friend

A New England lady's profile

Michael and mother sleeping peacefully

Virgen de la Esperanza, copy

This is part of a painting by Belgium painter Rogier van der Weyden. The folds in Magdalena's head covering intrigued me (copy)

Native Brazilian

Julie, Michael's high school friend

The tenderness of the moment made me copy this painting by a British artist

My very first attempt, also and, most important, a great friend, Patricia