The Best of Both Worlds
 Growing up and enjoying two worlds—that of my beautiful Island of Puerto Rico, where I was born—and that of being raised in the neighborhoods of New York City and seeing the majestic beauty of New York’s Adirondack mountains and its parks; and especially having seen much of the world through my military experiences, has all helped me to release my inner sense of appreciation for art as a Painter. And it was this sense of awareness that was first discovered in me as a child through my mother and my elementary school art teachers that would later greatly influence me, and allow me to express myself through drawing and sketching.
When I look at an object that interests me, such as the face or figure of a person; or a tree or mountain lake in landscape—or even simply clouds moving overhead—or water cresting and cascading over falls; it is this natural beauty that I capture as images in my mind. Often, this transcends all, leaving me with an almost-insatiable appetite to paint the objects, and to capture their full essences and presenting them for others to see and appreciate.
A Never-Ending Process
Throughout the years, I have discovered that Painting seems to be a never-ending process of learning, and no matter how much schooling you have in the field of Fine Art, no one really is an expert, except that of being a professional practitioner of the subject. Being a self-taught artist most of my life, I have always found myself experimenting with new ideas and trying out new techniques in an effort to attain a higher goal; to see the greater perspective; to fully capture and convey the feelings, the moods, and the very moments of that which I often see before me.
Since my early childhood I have continued practicing my image retention exercises, developing what I have always called my “Artist’s Eye”, which helps me to focus on the composition for each of my paintings. But, it also has the added advantage of helping me to better understand the world around me as well.
I find that is both therapeutic and relaxing to me; especially when I first begin to work on a painting. First, I pause and map out a thorough strategy of outline and design; of medium and composition—and of the colors that I may wish to use. It is, I find, this study of value and color which can spring up from my palette that then allows me to easily transpose that image onto paper or canvas. As a result, depending on the technique being used—(painting in the traditional style, allowing me to spend more time on the project; or painting with a wet-on-wet technique; allowing me less time on the project—I have it best to employ techniques that will use a highly-workable combination of both methodologies in order to apply an optimum balance to my style of Painting.
A Cross-Cultural Artist
Happily, I regard myself as a cross-cultural artist—having been influenced both by my native Puerto Rican heritage, and that of my fully-assimilated American culture. Because of this, I find that a blending of these two cultures—as represented in my art—can hopefully only help to promote that much-needed understanding and appreciation between the two different (and often opposing) cultures. It will always be the Art itself that must build the bridge and bridge the gaps that might sometimes exist in our diversified society.
Accordingly, having studied many American painters—both of the traditional and modern-day genres—it has immeasurably helped me to create my own technique and style of painting. Noted American landscape artists such as George Inness; Frederic E. Church; Asher Brown Durand; William Alexander; Robert Ross; William F. Powell, (and others), have greatly influenced me over the years. Native Puerto Rican painters, like Jose Campeche, Luis Cajigas, Francisco Oller and Jose F. Rios; and many of the European artists like Goya, Rembrandt and Monet, have also had their influence on my cross-cultural painting style. The lessons learned from these great masters have allowed me to grow independently as an artist, and to appreciate their contributions to me and my place in the world of art.
Ramberto Rodriguez
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