In 2010, I retired from a successful banking career. I had a desire to fill the emptiness in my life by finally indulging my God given talent of art.
I came red faced and screaming in this world at Saint Mary’s Infirmary in Galveston, Texas. When I was in the third grade, I developed a real sense of color application at Sacred Heart School, which led to art lessons from a Dominican High School Catholic nun as well as a free lanced area artist who was a friend of my mother. Thanks to my artistic mother, who pushed me to participate and learn from these teachers, I was the only wannabe baseball short stop who knew the difference from a Monet and Manet… or even cared.
I dabbled in art until my senior year at Ball Senior High School in Galveston and was motivated by my art teacher, Mignon M. Weisinger, to freely express myself and sidestep the graphic restraints so commonly demanded. This led to winning various poster contests, such as The Hallmark Honor Prize and a Gold Key in Scholastic Achievement in Art, in my senior year. Ms. Weisinger penned her assessment of my efforts in art as, “displaying a tantalizing and vibrant spirit in colors that he should never let fade away.”
I enrolled in the Famous Artist School, a correspondence school in the 1960s, but had to bow out when I was drafted into the U.S. Army. I shared my artistic talent with fellow servicemen by creating “Short Timers Calendars” in the style of Alberto Vargas’ pin-up art. Upon the completion of my military service, I ventured to New Orleans for a short period and expressed my talent as a street artist, creating whimsical impressions of people and the bluesy shadows of the Vieux Carre’. My fond memories NOLA still linger in my many laugh lines and love of Creole cooking.
My Texas family lured me back to Galveston in 1967 for stable career in the wonderful world of banking, but my desire to “display my vibrant spirit in colors” gave me a sideline in painting commercial signs, a few portraits and billboard designs. Opportunity in banking brought me to the Greater Houston Area in 1971 and I had to put all of my artistic endeavors on the back burner for decades in order to provide for my growing family.
My family is my greatest masterpiece and our love will last forever.