Mis Novios (translation: My Boyfriends)
Mis Novios (aka My Boyfriends) 30"x40" acrylic on canvas
Growing up, my mom had an in-home daycare. Ashton & Eric happen to be 2 of the first children she cared for. We were all about the same age, between 4-5 years old, so we spent a lot of time together playing, running, jumping, exploring etc.. After a while, both Ashton and Eric fell head over heels in love with me and they would often fight over who loved me more. I don’t remember much of the details of these fights, but my mom tells me that they got pretty heated. Luckily, the fighting has subsided and we are still friends to this day 
“Las Chivas” on display @ TAC
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- “Chiva- 6 Chickens” 5″x5″ mixed media on canvas
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- “Chiva- 5 Chickens” 5″x5″ mixed media on canvas
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- “Chiva-4 Chickens” 5″x5″ mixed media on canvas
I have several memories of visiting Colombia as a child. My memories of the landscape, culture, and people are still as vivid as always. I remember being in the capital, Bogotá, riding in taxis and buses, watching the mountains role by, making eye contact with the llamas and cows on the side of the rode, smelling the various foods from the street vendors, and just taking it all in.
When we would take trips outside of Bogotá, many times, we would have take a special bus. Unlike buses here in the USA, it was a slightly different experience and these special buses are commonly referred to as “chivas.” Many times the chivas were overly decorated with bright colors and over loaded with people, merchandise and various livestock. Sometimes these bus rides would entail several hours of riding down winding dirt roads, through mountains, and sometimes over landslides at ridiculous speeds. I often wondered, how the chiva didn’t go tumbling down the mountain side. In my most recent travels to Colombia, the chiva is more of a tourist attraction now than a standard, but I can’t help reminiscing of the adrenaline rush as we hastily made our way to the next town.
artWALK @ TAC
31 W. Adams St.
Downtown, Jacksonville
5P-9P
Quality Time: Feeding Time
Quality Time: Feeding Time
My mom taught us at a young age not to waste food. I have several fond memories of taking old bread and crackers to local duck ponds and feeding various critters. It became such a wonderful experience having all these animals come out of the woodwork for feeding time. To this day, I still find myself at the local duck pond reliving and re-enacting this memory.
I Remember the Trash Can
18"x36" mixed media on canvas 2008
Lots of people who see this image find different ways of interpreting what’s going on. Someone once asked if it was symbolic of my roots, while others just stand amused and scared to ask. Well, here’s the story behind the painting:
My sister and I were raised by a single immigrant mother who was not afraid of working herself to death to give us a better life. She took on many odd jobs to make ends meet and to get us off of welfare & other government (though I still have fond memories of government cheese… ) Anyway, one of the many jobs my mom had was being a “maintenance” guy at our apartment building. If something needed mowing, cleaning, repairing, then my mom would take care of it. One day, we got new trashcans in for our building and my mom had the fantastic idea to fill them with water and Mr. Bubbles so we could have our very own mini swimming pools. This was repeated several times and every time was even better than the last. Just to spice things up, sometimes, we would put the dog in the trashcan or we would even hide in the cans and jump out as cars drove by.
it was a simpler time, a simpler place, with lots of uncomplicated emotions and just pure bliss. Recreating this memory in a painting is a constant reminder to me that if a trashcan could make me happy once then achieving happiness is always at my reach.
