Biography Cuban born, I came to the USA in 1968 aboard the Freedom Flights, an arrangement between Cuba and the US under President Lyndon B. Johnson, that brought a quota of refugees, seeking asylum legally, to the USA between 1960 and 1972. I grew up in the city of Elizabeth, NJ where my family settled. As time passed, I assimilated and adapted to life in the US. I married my high school sweetheart in 1994. We moved to High Bridge, NJ in Hunterdon County in the spring of 1997 where we raised two daughters.
In 1982, I was accepted to Mason Gross School of Arts, at Rutgers University, where I began my undergraduate studies in drawing and painting. I excelled in the visual arts. I drew all my life. Drawing helped me with lots of things growing up. Painting came while at Mason Gross School of Art. A few of my peers there referred to me as the painter’s painter, which surprised me. I left the art school in 1985 due to an illness, and transferred to New Jersey City University in 1988, receiving a BFA in 1990.
Through the years up to the present, I have continued drawing and painting. I am a member of several artist organizations in NY, NJ and PA. My work has been recognized and exhibited in national and regional exhibitions in the tri-state area, occasionally winning awards. Most recently, I was accepted into an international exhibition: WASH-H 47th International Watermedia Exhibition in Houston, Tx, which runs from March 3 – 31, 2024.
Artist Statement I create works on paper, on canvas pad and masonite. The mediums I use are watercolor, INK, gouache and acrylic. My process begins with insight. I search within myself and see colors, shapes and lines, and then compose and paint what I see. Every color scheme has a visual voice. Color harmonies create visual voices that vibrate within the soul of both the artist and the viewer they are both attractive and seductive. These visual voices reach out to an audience much like a symphony or a musical score and they are improvised. I live in a very wooded area and the seasons affect color choices. I work from memory of what I have heard and observed from nature and the art gives me much joy and peace.