The iconic images, represented in my paintings, are signatures to a style I coin “Latin Deco”. This idea had its early beginnings during the 1960’s, while growing up in Toronto, Canada. During that time, I worked part time at my uncle’s shoe store, and this is where I believe, my infatuation with shoes and nostalgia began. I developed a love affair with the Big Band Swing Era, famous for their “Big Band “ orchestras and vocalists. Some of whom I admired were Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Helen Forest and Ella Fitzgerald, together with and an endless parade of vintage Cuban/Brazilian performers, like Desi Arnaz and Xavier Cugat.
I focussed my attention on fashion and discovered that it would become an architectural element in future works of art. I saturated my brain with an endless potpourri of visual memorabilia, from ‘George Hurrell’s black and white photography depicting statuesque movie stars draped in long sweeping gowns i.e. ‘Joan Crawford’ and ‘Bette Davis’, to a wealth of movies and musicals I had yet to discover, like MGM’s technicolor movie musical extravaganza, ‘The Gang’s All Here’ circa 1942, which starred ‘Carmen Miranda’, as (the ‘Brazilian Bombshell.’) The pairing of Brazilian conga with Benny Goodman’s Swing Orchestra against a New York City backdrop, for me, seemed breathtakingly surreal. ‘Busby Berkeley,’ famous for his outlandish,inventive choreography, and sparkling Art Deco sets, influenced my perception about space and architecture. When I first saw this movie, I inherently understood my connection to the past. I wanted to re-create, re-invent, and re-interpret a visual world that I spiritually connected with, a world that seemed strangely familiar to me. “I strongly believe that my alter ego is firmly planted into the soul of the Hollywood Technicolor movie musical of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ’50s.” I create within an environment that revolves around an “Alice in Wonderland” universe, where ‘Carmen Miranda’ and “The Wizard of Oz” can clash harmoniously at any given time. I have always had a passion for dance, especially, the intoxicating beat of Brazilian Bossa Nova, Tango, Samba, and Latin Cha-Cha. That, coupled with an infatuation for Paris haute couture, the Ziegfeld Follies, the Moulin Rouge, Carnival in Rio, artists Toulouse Lautrec, George Seurat, Alberto Vargas, George Petty, and dance icons from the Golden Age of Hollywood which included Ann Miller, Gene Kelly, Cyd Charise, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. I have been empowered to create works of art that I have successfully presented as a theatrical showcase that moves to the pulsating rhythm of music that inspires me. “When I am in front of the canvas, I visualize myself as a choreographer, set, and costume designer.”
From 1970-1974, I studied art, design and fashion illustration at the Ontario College of Art. It was there, where I was first motivated to pick up a brush and begin experimenting on canvas.
In 1977, I relocated to New York City, at the height, glitz and decadence of the Disco Era. Inspirations for my large scale canvases and drawings, mostly of campy “cirque-du-samba” women, were now being fueled by the euphoria of ‘Studio 54,’ the ‘Roseland Ballroom,’ and dozens of Latin nightclubs that I frequented. I felt like I was living in the heyday of New York’s ‘Copacabana Club’ of the 1940’s.
My work became popular in store window displays, including ‘Bloomingdales,’ ‘Macy’s,’ and ‘Marshall Fields.’ New York’s trendy ‘Fiorucci,’ asked me to create a series of life size painted wooden “showgirl” cut-outs, which served as in-store displays. ‘Look’ magazine later featured them on the cover. Entrepreneurs commissioned several murals for restaurants, nightclubs, and hotels, some of which included ‘Zanzibar’ in New York City, ‘Las Paras,’ a Caribbean Restaurant located in Yokahama, Japan, the ’Holiday Inn Ballroom’ in Mt. Kisco, New York, and the ‘Touche’ Nightclubs on the Jersey Shore. My painting titled “La Mode,” was featured in the 1982 motion picture ‘Tootsie,’ which later was published as a poster by ‘Grand Image’ in 2004. I designed and illustrated a series of CD covers for ‘CBS,’ ‘Arista,’ and ‘GRP’ record labels, and the commemorative posters for ‘(DIFFA)’ the Design Industries Fights Aids, ‘Absolute’ Vodka, the ‘1992 United States Ballroom Championships,’ performed at the ‘Fountainebleau Hotel’ in Miami Beach, and a national ad campaign for ‘Nescafe’ Coffee Canada.
Upon relocating to Miami Beach in 1997, I created posters for the Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser ‘Fashion Art Ball’, the ‘2001 First Night Miami Beach,’ the 2004 ‘Miami Beach Festival of the Arts,’ and original art for the ‘Goldcoast Ballroom’ in Fort Lauderdale. Along with residential, custom and commercial commissions, I have also created original artwork for the ‘Caribbean Cruise Lines’ and the ‘Anchor Shops,’ including Miami’s ‘Art in public Places’ “Flamingos on the Beach,” a citywide event, where I was sponsored to paint ten flamingo sculptures that were later placed at private residences and city landmarks, including the Port of Miami.
“LATIN DECO,” ™ the style which best describes my work, has given me a wonderful sense of identity. For the last ten years, I have been inspired by Miami’s Art Deco history, architecture, Latin culture, breathtaking turquoise blue skies, and lush tropical fauna. “I continue to embrace each new day, applying innovative ideas to creatively challenge myself, and to literally, paint a picture of the world I live in.”
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