Q: Before I drill down into the trajectory of your career over the years, where are you in your art career today? 

A: Ha! Ok, if you want to start there. It’s been a rewarding and long journey so far for sure. After many years of paying my dues and making many mistakes I have finally reached a place where I’m no longer searching for an identity. Whether I paint, draw or sculpt, a distinctive style that is recognized by my frequent art collectors or the art galleries who represent my work, my footprint is clearly there. Am I done learning? Not at all. With every new project I make it as challenging as possible, forcing me to have to research and learn something new. If I paint a scene of the Battle of Waterloo that Napoleon lost, I research a great deal about it so the piece feels genuine. By the way, Napoleon’s horse during that battle was named Marengo.

Recently, I started teaching a number of courses at an arts center and privately as well. I need to engage in activities that are meaningful and sharing what I have learned brings me positive feelings.

Q: Okay, one more question about the present time…are you currently exhibiting?

A: I am. Although having galleries curate my work is a good thing, I prefer coming up with a theme and even creating brand new work for it. And when we have a show, we provide relevant methodology beyond the art displayed.

Q: Do you remember when you first felt connected to art?

A: I recall a couple of occasions growing up when early signs of my curiosity for art were evident. I was quite observant and used to draw almost every little event I experienced, from watching a soccer match to seeing airplanes land and take off at the airport. I will never forget obsessing about the Beatles. One of my favorite memories, recorded in my mind still today, was the group performing on the Ed Sullivan TV show for the first time in America. I created many drawings from that event. Then, as a teenager in high school, when muscle cars and dragsters were popular, school mates would ask me to draw cartoons of those cars on the back of their t-shirts. Not quite a formal piece of art but I suppose it was another sign.

Q: How did that early belief shape your outlook as a young artist?

A: Even though, at an early age, I began exploring my artistic skills, I did not expect that a future in art was waiting for me. 

Growing up in Venezuela, at least from our middle-class social circles, there wasn’t a “cultural” or an official “art education” that was offered. My understanding was that art was something of the past, like Michelangelo or Da Vinci or even Picasso. But I was very interested in playing music. After all, we grew up in an era of a musical revolution: Woodstock, Motown, Vietnam, lava lamps, listening to lyrics on the radio that told the story of our time. I taught myself to play guitar. Those were times when I was designing psychedelic posters using fluorescent paint and black lights for dance parties.

Q: How did art school influence your path?

A: By the time I enrolled at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, I came with some real-world experience working at a Miami ad agency during junior college. What I didn’t have was the academic art education. Art school taught me art appreciation. Like many of us fresh out of art school, I wouldn’t know what was coming next. I followed in the footsteps of other artists before me who became illustrators or designers. Some of them plunged right into fine art. Very scary yet exciting at the same time.

Q: What were some of your earliest steps into the art world?
A: I embraced everything that had to do with art. Getting started in commercial art, as it was called then, was the natural path, certainly safer than trying to survive as a fine artist. In retrospect, that was a smart move if you are not independently wealthy and need to support yourself.

It was a time of discovery also learning about other creative disciplines such as photography, design and illustration.

At the same time I kept one foot on fine art. I became enamored with the 19th Century French Impressionists and it just so happened that it coincided with relocating from Miami to New York. The early 80s was a special time in the art scene with painters emerging like Schnabel, Clemente, Basquiat, Haring and gallerist like Mary Boone. In addition to surrounding myself with all that artistic energy there were the legendary jazz clubs like the Village Vanguard, Fat Tuesdays and the Blue Note.

On the weekends I walked all over Manhattan with my camera capturing every day street life: musicians, restaurant scenes, horse and carriages through Central Park, architecture, museums, and taking it all in. New York was my Paris.

Q: So, did you ever make it to Paris or other cities in or around Europe?

A: I did actually. I travelled to Paris a number of times as well as the south of France. I have always been very interested in places that were impacted by World War II events, like the coastal towns along Normandy, Amsterdam, London, Brussels, Prague, Kraków and briefly in Germany: Düsseldorf, Cologne and Frankfurt. Most recently I spent time in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and by car all over Morocco…that blew my mind.

Q: What artists influenced you most as you developed your own style?

A: As an aspiring illustrator I was attracted by the iconic illustrators of the time: Fuchs, English, Peak, Forbes. Their illustrations appeared on the covers of national magazines, movie posters and album covers.
As a fine artist I was all over the place trying to find my own voice, which took some time given there were so many artists I admired including Delacroix’s complex and rich depictions of North Africa, Schiele’s grotesque drawings of figures and Tissot who was known for exquisite portraits.

Q: You speak a lot about Post Impressionism and Expressionism. How did those impact you?

A: After Impressionism came the amazing post Impressionists like Cezanne, Van Gogh and Gauguin followed the birth of Fauvism fathered by Henri Matisse along with André Derain, and Maurice de Vlaminck, a movement that transformed the way I paint today.

The Expressionist in the early 20th-century also caught my attention. Expressionism was more of an emotionally charged reaction to the world. Works of art were intense with distorted figures, unnatural colors, and bold brushstrokes to express internal feelings rather than pleasant representational art. I found Expressionism is even more liberating to me than Impressionism. Matisse’s work, however, impacted me the most.

Q: What is it about Matisse that you feel a stronger connection with?

A: Matisse’s work –and I’m referring to work predating the decorative whimsical paper cut-outs popular posters in museum gift shops today– it was his compositions how he designed interiors, women lounging, fabrics and florals. To this day Fauvism feels contemporary.

Q: Your sculptures seem to fit into a similar genre as your figurative work.

A: Yes, I think so. Late 19th century sculptures of human figures and equine subjects emerging from Degas, Rodin, Bonnard and Claudel is where my initial motivation for sculpting came from.

Q: You sculpt very similarly to the way you draw.

A: I have been told that, and I like hearing that…the truth is, I wasn’t properly trained to be a sculptor, so I suppose I have had to rely on what I know. The way I draw, that is.

Q: You mentioned the Beatles earlier—how does that fit into your narrative?

A: Well, not just The Beatles but all artists in general. I feel evolving is an artist’s sacred journey. The Beatles, the Stones and many others also borrowed heavily from earlier artists like the whole Motown vibe. Andy Warhol, for example…he worked as a window dresser, and his style was heavily influenced by his advertising experience before becoming “Warhol.” 

The bottom line is that none of us arrive fully formed. If we are lucky, aspiring artists need to have an open mind. At the end, it’s passion and persistence that will shape who we become.

Q: Now, at age seventy, what message do you want to leave for younger artists?

A: “Get a real job!” I say that half-jokingly. Freedom to create without having to compromise our creativity with those who collect our work and that applies to art galleries who often push us in one direction or another. 

When asked, I try to teach young artists to learn how to feel first and then to reflect that emotion in their work. I want to inspire them—and not by offering them shortcuts, by encouraging them to take chances and embrace mistakes. In my experience, the process matters more than the results. Art isn’t about racing toward fame or perfection as I once thought. It’s about the journey, the missteps, and the discovery of one’s own identity. Above all, create with meaning and purpose. Be authentic. I have no regrets.