About Me

I am a Venezuelan who immigrated to Canada in 1993 I am a Venezuelan who immigrated to Canada in 1993, at the age of twenty-one. Since my arrival in this wonderful province of Quebec, I have been fascinated with the French language and with its very special culture, so I immediately decided to study this language at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM). As I was studying French at university and integrating into my new adopted country, I started working in a kitchen as a dishwasher. I didn’t stop there, a few months later I barely got by in French and became a waiter. A few years later I was offered the position of dining room manager until I reached the role of director of operations. Several years of working in this industry provided me with a wealth of experience. I persevered so that every day my way of offering service was exceptional, which began to attract the attention of investors. One day, they approached me and offered me a stake as a shareholder holder in a first restaurant. It became one of the 10 best in Canada, evaluated in 2005 by the prestigious Air Canada “enRoute” magazine. Thanks to this recognition, other offers began to arrive for the creation of other concepts, I was thus directing other establishments that obtained great notoriety. In 2012 I decided to open a new restaurant with the name MIXTURE nuevo latino, cuisine du terroir. In this new project, I would bring together all my learning and evolution, combining my Hispanic origin and my new adopted home: Quebec. It was a complete success, becoming one of the best gastronomic destinations in Montreal. I felt fulfilled, but I always had the impression that something was missing in my life. From a very young age, I always dedicated myself to painting, I considered it a hobby that allowed me to clear my mind. When I had free time (which was not often) I painted works that were used to decorate the walls of my house. This was the best way to reduce my stress. when painting, I felt that I was feeding my soul and at the same time, I felt in direct communication with my own being. As the years passed, internal questioning began. I constantly wondered if this profession of restaurateur, which had given me so many merits and in which I worked with such passion since my youth, was what I really wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wondered if this would allow me one day to fulfill my great dream, which was to lead a quiet life in the countryside, disconnected from the noise of the city, surrounded by mountains, nature and animals. Every day I saw my dream further away. The schedules and the involvement that I had to have within the operations left me with very little time for myself. In the restaurants that I ran, I always used my creative side to the maximum, including the decoration of the place. To decorate the walls of the restaurants, I always collaborated with art galleries that lent me their works in order to give t hem visibility. On one occasion, one of my walls was left empty, since the gallery had to recover its works. This is how for the first time I decided to place a work made by myself and not provided by a gallery. I won’t deny it, I felt a little shy because my clients saw this aspect of my personality and… In the same way, I took the risk, with the surprise that many of the clients were delighted and even wanted to buy it! But their greatest astonishment knew that the author of this work was me, the restaurant’s owner. Only my close friends knew about this part of my life as a plastic artist. Unfortunately, the restaurant that I had put so much effort, time, and money into went bankrupt. This event took all my energy to continue in this industry that we know is so difficult to keep afloat. Although my good name as a restaurateur still stood, I was called upon to run other establishments which for me was like starting over. However, there came a time when I had to renew myself and make a big decision. I didn’t want to give up my dream. I wanted to grow old doing a profession that would allow me to work from home and settle in the countryside close to nature and silence. So, motivated by the experience I had with the painting I did for my restaurant and by the many good comments about it, I decided to get involved full-time in art. I painted some works and published them on internet platforms. Almost immediately, there were people interested in buying them. That’s how I started to earn a living selling my creations. Little by little my name as a plastic artist was positioned among the artists of Quebec, participating in some small collective exhibitions, that’s how people began to know me. My style. I like to work with mixed media. Most of my works depict famous figures. I have always been fascinated by portraiture. I often challenge myself to improve my technique in order to convey as many emotions as possible in my paintings. The eyes, a person’s sight is for me the center of each of my works. I also really like painting hands, feet, the human body and its sensuality. Today I see that, in everything I worked, I always used my creativity in order to achieve my goals. In all the areas in which I have worked, I have been an empirical person, including art, since I do not have any specialized study. I have always followed what my heart tells me and thus I have achieved each of my goals. But the biggest goal is the one I am living right now. Finally, my dream came true and now I live in the mountains, surrounded by nature, accompanied by love and living 100% from my art. Using the not Being an artist has given me the ability to transmit the most beautiful of messages to whoever wants to hear it: “never, never give up”. When we put all our creativity into any aspect of our life, we can achieve whatever we want because, as long as we live, there will be a solution for everything.