St. Pete Pride is Just a Week Away!

Pride Colored Glasses, mixed media on canvas panel, 5" x 7"

Saint Pete Pride is the largest Pride celebration in the entire state of Florida. If you are in town for the  festivities please be sure to visit my Latin Pop Shop booth between 22nd and 23rd streets on Central Avenue (directly across from the LGBT Welcome Center). I will be holding an art giveaway and every purchase will receive a free linocut print (will supplies last). There will also be a carnival-style photo stand free for the public to enjoy!

See you there!

Latin Pop at White Owl Market

You can now find my work at White Owl Market (683 Central Avenue) in the hip and eclectic 600 block of Saint Petersburg, Florida. White Owl Market is my favorite type of retail establishment. As a matter of fact, after an afternoon chat with the store's owner Rande, it became very clear why I immediately felt his space was a good fit for my work (thankfully, he felt the same).
Rande's vision is that of a welcoming ("have a seat and take it all in") retail space that touches upon all aspects of daily life. At White Owl you can find stylishly up-cycled vintage furnishings and home accessories. As you make your way from one inviting display to another, you might pick up some soap or candles (maybe even a jar of crafted local jam) or find a beautiful hand-made top, from which proceeds help the plight of women's rights globally. And then there's the local and unique art. Decorative, yes...but clever and with something to say as well.

This might come back to bite me in my tush (gallery curators and snobby artists please cover your ears now) but as an artist I have always found it more fulfilling to have my works shown in "real" settings. I am not referring to specifically themed art projects, which do show best against the sterility of a dedicated art space, but my to my every day paintings. Art is part of my daily life and this is how I prefer to view and show it.

At the end of a hard day's work I will light that candle that sits on that side table. I will stretch across that couch and put my tired feet up on that ottoman. I will enjoy the candle's relaxing scent while looking at that painting. 

If you are or make it to St. Petersburg, be sure to check out White Owl Market.

Raices Femeninas

I am thrilled to announce my upcoming feature exhibit Raices Femeninas (Femenine Roots) at Feathered Serpent Gallery in St. Petersburg, Florida. The show focuses on my "Mujeres" work and honors the women I was raised by and femininity, which continues to inspire me. It also celebrates my Hispanic heritage.

An opening reception will be held on Friday, March 28 from 6-9 pm.
Mark your calendars and please let everyone you know in the Tampa area.
Visit and share the Facebook event page.

A Great Start to 2014!

If you wondered where my gals "La Sonora" and "La Ofrenda" were flying off to yesterday...

I am thrilled to share with you that I am now being represented by Feathered Serpent Gallery in St. Petersburg, Florida. The gallery specializes in Latino/Latin American art, film and much more.
Stay tuned for details on an upcoming featured exhibition of my work there. Be sure to like their page on Facebook.

Some Random Images

These were taken during our trip to Denver.

Back From Vegas

Our Vegas trip was great fun. Ron had a conference to attend there this past Monday. As his "Trophy Wife", I got to tag along. The company flew us there on Friday morning so we could enjoy the weekend leading up to his conference, a generous (and much-appreciated) gesture on their part.

Due to a scheduling mix-up we had to split our stay between two hotels. We first checked into South Point, which is a perfectly lovely resort but a bit off the Strip (a $56 round trip cab ride away to be precise) and better suited for families. The pool area was wall to wall screaming children. Not that I have anything against snotty brats and rugrats, I just don't care to share my Vegas experience with them. You don't see me drinking and gambling at Disney World.


Being the classy guy I am I immediately stole some paper cups from the maid's cart so we could make some Cosmos in our room.


On the second day of our stay we got to "move on up" to the Palazzo.
Oh...Palazzo...how I miss thee. I seriously did not want to leave. We felt like Kings.
OK, OK... King and Queen.


Our view went from:


to:




And our makeshift Bathroom Bar graduated from stolen paper cups to:






On Monday I caught an exhibit at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art and visited the Chihuly gallery at City Center. I will blog on both in the coming days.

For now...it's back to reality and work.

A few more random Vegas shots:




And perhaps my favorite shot...
Naughty necklaces off a vendor's cart.
It wouldn't be in keeping with my own style,
but I think this image would make a great large-scale painting.

Vegas Report: Part 2

Ok, so don't let the tasteful photographs mislead you into believing that all fun had during our trip was civilized. We drank our share of $15 long island iced tea "yards" and acted the fool (not the most difficult thing for me) plenty!


Tasteful glassware. We're high class, you know!


You can't find this outfit at Chanel...I tried.


Quite proud of ourselves, having just ridden the New York, New York roller coaster without tossing any cookies. We swear we're not drunk...why won't you believe us???


Umm...luckily we steered clear of this hut.


I strike an appropiate pose in the "porn" room.
How do you like me now Tyra??!

Next: The Good, the Bad and the Vegas Fashion Report.

The Vegas Report

I'm back! Did anyone miss me???

The Vegas trip was just wonderful!

I was snapping away everywhere we went.

Here are a few of the sites:


Harrah's




Caesar's Palace


Flamingo


New York,New York


MGM Grand




Old Frontier Sign

While there we caught two shows: Cirque du Soleil's "Mystere", which was amazingly beautiful and inspiring (made me wish I could paint right then and there!) and Bette Midler's "The Showgirl Must Go On!", also amazing. Bette is still an incredible entertainer and comedienne.

After the show, The Divine Miss M. held a book signing on the steps of the Colosseum. I took the opportunity to give her a painting! My initial intention was to try and send it backstage, but when we heard about the after-show appearance, I thought perfect!
She was lovely and gracious and said, "It's my birthday, you know. Can I keep this??".
To which I replied, "Are you kidding? I'd be honored if you'd have this painting!".

Here it is. (not a great photo).

Vegas Valentine
Acrylic on canvas/12x12"


to be continued...

Off to Vegas!

I will not be posting this week as we are headed to Sin City to celebrate Ron's big 4-0!
I will bring my trusty camera in hopes of capturing some inspiring imagery as well as a crime of fashion...or twelve. I've got my Big Girl Drinkin' Pannies on and I'm ready to roll!
I hope to bring back a tawdry tale or two.

While there we'll be catching Bette Midler's "The Showgirl Must Go On"...of course.