Whenever I paint in an instictive manner without much planning I always seem drawn to the Guajiro. If you don't know what a Guajiro is, it's pretty much a Cuban farmer or cowboy. At least in my mind that's what it represents. Many men in my family were Guajiros before they exiled over to the US. Most of them, if not all have already passed away. Growing up I saw little bits of proof of this former life from family. Often told in stories or by family members having a green thumb when it comes to growing trees and plants. In my mind I grab from the stories and a lost time and create them in strange portraits and other forms, including landscapes that I recently started to experiment with.
Photo on the right is of my grandfather Nene Ferrer back in the 1940's.
