I'm not a complicated person. In fact my favorite quotation and the best way I would describe myself are the wise and ironic words of Andy Warhol: "I am a deeply superficial person." This makes me pretty easy to get to know, but it's not so great as an artist. I've never had to find concept or meaning in art, I've always painted off of the basis that I am good at it and I enjoy it: therefore I paint. Unfortunately, that only gets you so far. And here I am, trying to find myself, like I'm at a crossroads in life.
Fortunately, at exactly this point of conflict in my life, I decided to take a summer class with Professor Greg Henry. And so, he has taken it upon himself to help me channel my work and in the process find myself. He and I sat down and talked and talked and talked (a favorite pass time of mine, which all of my professors will attest to) and I expressed how I love patterns and concepts of the mandala, but didn't know how to make it my own. I told him I like watercolour. And I told him that I felt a weird connection to the Caribbean. Probably because of my Cuban heritage. And BAM. He asked about my heritage and I said a lot of it is lost in Cuba and the stories died with my grandmother. Thus, the process of finding myself became the concept, in searching for a connection with my family's history through my art, the only thing I have left from my grandmother. My mother reconnected with her heritage through traveling... I don't have the time or money to fly to Cuba, BUT I do have the artistic ability. Being a Caribbean artist himself, Professor Henry is helping me and pointed me in the direction of modern art in the Caribbean. Now all I need is a translator.
I am starting with Tony Monsanto, a Caribbean artist whose work exists to explore his Caribbean identity. He goes about this through color and Caribbean symbolism, exploring both history and religion. I don't plan on being very religious at all in my art, but I do admire his use of color and Caribbean motifs.
http://tonymonsanto.exto.org/index/309157_Tony+Monsanto.html
