Les Délices des Quatre Saisons
My latest work is an expression of my experience in my native Dominican Republic where poverty is at every corner and every turn. I painted ordinary moments in the life of my people, that regardless of the extreme deprivation they may endure, they face every day with hope and an incredibly Joie de vivre.
My subjects are barefoot children playing in the street or working to be able to eat.
My subjects are entire families riding in a single motorcycle being able to laugh at their own circumstances and wave to people passing by.
My subjects are full of beauty, full of grace.
More than show my subjects as I see them, I seek to portrait them with dignity, as human beings trying to do their best to make their way in the world. I hope to be able to show the beauty, the humanity, of all the children and families I encounter. More than this, I strive to depict them with compassion and empathy.
In my work I explore the simplicity of line in contrast with texture, in some of my pieces I used found objects like the toile wall paper I used as background of some of my pieces these help me to make an statement about social inequality.
Painting: The wheat field where Van Gogh ended his life. Oil on canvas, 8″ x 10″. While painting this scene I teared up thinking about what happened in this field and the sad state this brilliant artist had been reduced to. I brought home some stalks of wheat as a momento.
Coquelicot (poppies), a favorite subject of the impressionists, Van Gogh made several paintings of poppies. I saw them everywhere in Auvers-sur-Oise.
Another view of the wheat field. Oil on cardboard, 15″ x 12″. I still had energy to paint after 2 canvases so I used some cardboard I had for packing my canvases to capture one more view.
Path from the cemetery where Van Gogh is buried to the wheat field. Oil on canvas, 12″ x 16″.
The Van Gogh park down the street from the Maison de Van Gogh.
