natural impressions: intertwine

Here's an image of my latest commission for a hospital in Houston.  The commission is based upon two of my natural impressions paintings and the idea of color-blocking or splitting the canvas (or panel) in such a way as to present two images or perspectives in one piece of art.  The large leaves juxtaposed with the small leaves gives a nice contrast.   There's a serenity and calmness to the shape of the branches and the position of the leaves.  I wanted the painting to have both a female and a male sensibility -- this is important when creating public art, especially for hospitals where the art needs to convey a sense of place, a calmness and even an element of hope.  

Magnolia Triptych

We've been busy at the end of this year with commissions for art for various hospitals around the country.  This triptych of this magnolia branch was a recent commission, and we had a lot of fun conceptualizing and painting it. I remember magnolias from my childhood years in New Orleans, where the big, fragrant flowers would weigh down the trees' branches.  The bees loved them, and I used to like the feel of the smooth, supple leaves. Exploring leaves and flowers through the Natural Impressions series has brought me in touch with the organic world and plants and trees in a way I never really anticipated.  A recent movie this year, Tree of Life, explores the relationship man has with nature through the eyes of  a child and his family.  I guess my exploration of nature comes in painting the details of a leaf or flower, and then stepping back and witnessing how the painting takes on a realty of its own.  I hope you enjoy the magnolias.  

My new "Passages" series

These paintings are the beginning of my new series entitled Passages.  The Passages collection is an allegory on the theme of humanity's process of transition from one's current state of being into another.   The characters are caught in one of the pivotal moments or times of our lives  where we all must make a decision which requires deep reflection.  The figures stand in the doorway between the past and the future.  The doorway is a portal or a means of access to reaching a personal admission or freedom, a specific beginning or an undetermined end. 

The figures' garments places them firmly in the beginning of the last century, and returns them to a time period which closely mirrors our present day.  The correlation between now and then is evident in many aspects of our social, political and religious issues and world events that created enormous progress while at the same time bringing us to the brink of destruction with The World War.  This time period allows the viewer a convenient distance from the present and hopefully allowing them to a calm yet passionate reflection of contemporary issues.  

Siempre Esperando (Always Waiting)

The man stands alone at a time of decision.  A strong, lone figure standing in the passageway needing to move forward  is stuck in time by many emotional, social and personal obstructions that are causing him to stop and reflect one more time before making a pivotal decision.  Can he move through this purity of light that presents unknown possibilities?  Can he turn his back on the enclosing dark walls of time from his past? This is a constant of most people's journey through life and the ability to make this decision freely is one of humanities biggest challenges.

The Letter 

 In our lives we experience moments that create pivotal changes within ourselves. These moments arrive in many ways and in many forms, such as news received through a letter, and we are captured in a private moment of learning about events that have occurred and the realization of what our outcome will be. Change has happened, life has altered, and we are transformed, good or bad. That instant is what I  am fascinated with. That second, that one second of so many thousands of seconds, but it is one of those instances that we will allow to define who we will become for ever more.

Leaving Paradise

The predicament of leaving one's ideal of home and safety, one's country or relationships is a common and complex experience for all of us.  The decision to move through this experience can be approached with emotional and spiritual strength or with fear and uncertainty. The idea of paradise is also an illusion. One's idea of safety or freedom can be altered by other's assumption of theirs. It can be a time remembered with shame and regrets, or with happiness, confidence and joy. The road chosen will determine the outcome of all our stories and will influence the remainder of all our lives. Sometimes the need to look back one more time can be melancholy as well as a comforting memory.

Clouded Vision . . . Again!

Rarely does an artist get the opportunity to revisit a work, but I was given that opportunity when a man from Florida commissioned a companion piece to Clouded Vision.  The original painting as sold by Howard Schepp Fine Art to a couple who live in Vancouver, British Columbia.   The Florida man saw the painting on the Schepp website and commissioned me to make him a smaller (20" X 24") version of the painting.   As a child, born and growing up in Cuba, I was told the story of Santa Caridad, Cuba’s patron saint of charity.  She is a mixed-race virgin figurine that was found in the waters off of Eastern Cuba, and she protects believers' issues involving love, fertility, childbirth, and material prosperity.  The story I was told explained how three fishermen were out at sea when a terrible storm threatens their survival, and just before they perished, the black fisherman witnesses a vision of the Santa Caridad and prays to her for help. She grants them safety back to the island and asks them to spread the word of her existence.   As a child I could not envision this miracle.  Instead, I always imagined a frightening storm on the ocean with a ray of blinding sunlight breaking thru the storm to provide guidance to land.  At age seven, we migrated to New Orleans, a life for me very familiar to my Cuban life.  New Orleans is filled with a colorful culture mixed with religious and social similarities.  The Afro-Cuban deities and the Santerismo with their voodoo, the slavery, and the French and Spanish influences in the culture and lifestyles all contributed to my approach to painting Clouded Vision.   I painted it with a sense of nostalgia in antique tones and patina surfaces with superstitious undertones.   In this painting I merged both of my worlds -- my Cuban past and my Southern upbringing -- and created a painting that is on one hand traditional and, and on the other, personal.  The story has always represented to me that when in times of trouble (or "clouded vision") you hope for the one wish that will bring you to solace.  

Down On The Bayou

With all the flooding of the Mississippi River, Max has been thinking about his childhood and growing up down in New Orleans.  This painting, Down On The Bayou, is a tribute to the Mississippi River, with the gifts and beauty it provides yet the tribulations it can bring.  And of course, the majesty of the bayous and deltas of the south.  Sometimes artwork that shows the uniqueness and serenity of a place helps us all deal better with the current problems in our world.  The grandeur of the Mississippi is that it is a long and wide river that ebbs and flows with the seasons as it provides life for all of us here in this land.  Max always believes that nature's lessons of taking care of itself is one to remember. The color of the sun rising on another day, with the crescent moon lingering over the Crescent City, brings hope of another day of happiness and growth.