My Story & Philosophy

From a very young age, I understood deeply that beauty and creativity is not just a luxury—it is essential to our inner peace and happiness. My journey has been marked by stark contrasts that have shaped my understanding of the world. I was born in 1971 as a first-generation Puerto Rican on a humble fruit and vegetable farm at the Jersey Shore. I would spend my school years in the 70s and 80s straddling both the NJ farm home and Corozal, PR’s tropical mountains, both very rural back then. We left the Jersey farm when I was 13 to live in Puerto Rico for 2 years, immersed in the lush landscapes, cultural traditions, and the warmth of friendships and community forged in the tropical sun and mountain landscapes. I learned to speak Spanish fluently and I made some of my very best friends. They were the best years of my life and the highest point in my childhood. We returned to the New Jersey farm. The area was always picturesque, with beautiful fields and woods, beautiful beaches, gorgeous beach homes, and lively boardwalks in the summers that drew vacationers from all over to take in the boardwalk rides and funnel cakes. Yet, amidst this beauty, I found myself living in what was once an actual poultry house; aka chicken coop. It had been repurposed as makeshift housing on the farm where I grew up many years prior. A raw cinderblock bathroom and makeshift kitchen-like area were added to make it habitable for humans. It contrasted sharply with the brand-new developments and beautiful homes that now surrounded it. This housing was meant and used for temporary summer farm workers back in the day. This became my home during a particularly difficult few months in the 1980s after returning from PR. Surrounded by everything that screamed of its past stark, utilitarian life, I sank into a deep depression. Immediate shock from my highest point in life to my lowest at 15 years old.

One day, as I explored forgotten storage, I stumbled upon old paint cans—leftovers with just enough pigment to spark a transformation. To my surprise inside among those old rusted cans were a pretty soft pink and a pale, almost off-white yellow. Armed with these colors and a full box of large black markers, I set my sights on my unsightly metal utility closet beside my sleeping cot. With strokes filled with hope, I painted the closet in pink and yellow stripes. Atop, I drew what looked like an awning, in bold black and off-white stripes, turning the drab metal into a beach tent cabana; reminding me of the charming vintage ones I had seen at some of those beach houses at the Shore. Beside my cot, a lone cinderblock found a new purpose, it was now art. Painted to match the transformation of the metal utility closet, serving as both a testament to resilience and a solid claim to my space. 

This small act taught me the transformative power of beauty - how a few colors of paint and a decision can turn a place of despair into a sanctuary of creativity and hope. That was my junior year of HS and my last on the NJ farm. My lifelong deep passion for personal growth was ignited.

I left home for Puerto Rico, alone, immediately after. I continued to paint and create and sold my very first illustration to a Surfing magazine at age 16. After living in Puerto Rico and working in Old San Juan for several years, I moved to Florida, which has been my home for most of my life now. I went on to spend my life in the ‘90s and early 2000s working as an artist in different ways, from “faux finisher”, to muralist and decorative painter transforming homes, children’s rooms, and nurseries with my painting. Spaces that made people happy and reminded them deep inside that we are worthy and that feeling good at home is so important. I was also a scenic artist at Disney World. In South Florida, I worked with the highest of the high-end designers of the time in Miami, from South Beach up the coast to Boca Raton, continuing my work as a decorative painting artist. I was also a featured artist in a couple of shows on HGTV. TV shows that taught us about the beauty of a well-curated home; I learned and now teach about the beauty of a well-curated mind and Spirit.

My journey and the evolution of my work continues. I have added mixed media portrait artist and resin glass art into my portfolios and have been working from my home studio in Orlando. I spent two years during COVID displaying my works on the stage of a local morning TV show in Univision’s “Despierta Orlando”.  I spent the last several years creating pieces from my art journals and creating commissioned works by my now collectors. I’ve continued to follow my inner guidance and growth which brings us to this very website. This is the very beginning of what I call my Hub of creative flow. The place to shop for my creations, both original works and prints, a place for me to communicate through the blogs, a place for all of my studio works to come to, to be seen and found by their new owners and new collectors. I see my business as another extension of myself and of my art.

"Everything I do is a form of art. When I make records, it's an art. If you run a business, it's an art. Creating something that’s a reflection of what you feel is the art, no matter the medium." _ Rick Rubin

Little did I know back in my darkest hour growing up, when I painted that metal closet and cinderblock, I was doing more than changing the color of my surroundings—I was reclaiming my spirit, affirming my right to beauty and joy despite everything around me telling me otherwise. That act of transformation was my first, visceral lesson in the importance of self-expression, creating, and beauty. 

No matter the shadows of our past or the dim and dark corners of our current circumstances, we must never let adversities diminish our sense of worthiness of all good things. This worthiness or 'esteem of self' is something we are born with, not something we need to earn.

All this is the philosophy that guides my art and business today. Each piece I create is designed to elevate, inspire, and enrich your living spaces and minds. Each serves as reminders to embrace the full spectrum of our authentic selves, including our heritage and culture, beautifully and unapologetically. I invite you to explore my works and find those special pieces that speak to the beauty and resilience of your own life story. We all have a story to tell and we are all worthy of expressing it.