Art of Faust

14/04/2026

The planet has extraordinary power. Mother Earth is a benevolent and healing force. Any place that opens us up to notice her and commune with her, floods us with a calm, restorative and intoxicating energy.

At Playa Buyé I take off my hardworking flip flops and let my soles meet the sand. My toes dive in as my nostrils fill with a salty breeze. Stunned, my eyes drink in the beautiful colors of the sea in front of me. The blue, the turquoise, and the teal. The squeals of children and BBQ smoke. Happy stray dogs dodge the flying paddle balls. Everything is wonder.

We don't stop. We trudge through shallow water past the sand castles collapsing to the right. We go past the quebrada into the thicket of trees. The trail is shared by ants, stinkbugs and bits of retired barbed wire. Then we break out into the sand of the cove. A narrow path between anchor lines and beach towels.

Still we don't stop.

The straps of the cooler bag dig deep into the shoulders as we climb over the mangled mangrove roots, to the place we do not go beyond. Past here is too sacred. Some things must be left alone. Right here is perfect.

There is no room for a towel. The thick clumps of portia roots reach right to the edge of the water. The heart-shaped leaves twinkle as we find space to drape T-shirts over tree branches. I sit on my folding chair while she splashes her feet into the crystal clear sea.

More boats pull in. The usual cacophany of competing song choices mingles with the sound of the gentle waves. A tiny traditional yola, the "Desafío", pulls in in front of us. The owner anchors his boat and strips down to his bathing trunks. Then he leaps away for a few hours.

We mix pineapple juice with passion fruit to complete the setting.

This is a perfect day at Playa Buye.

23/02/2026

"Gifts from the Island"

The magic of Puerto Rico has so many fountains. I cannot get enough of its landscapes bathed in powerful light, the mists that rise from its streets and jungles, the leaves that dance in the wind and the flocks of birds that noisily rush from tree to tree. All combine to a kaleidoscopic spectacle and the subtle change of seasons provides an ever-changing menu of delights to the eyes as well as to the dedicated forager.

But clearly the greatest source of magic are its people.

There is a tribal togetherness lost elsewhere. It is sometimes hidden from view by a stern look that wearily inspects a newcomer for trouble, but it is always unlocked by a smile and the effort to speak even just a single word of Spanish.

Once admitted, to be a neighbor on this Island means to be waved at every time you pass by, to be seen and listened to patiently, to be invited to birthdays and included in prayers, to be taken care of and fed. The people are your safety net.

I called this painting "Gifts from the Island" because the commission itself was such a generous gift from one friend to another. It was also a gift to me as it allowed me to celebrate a lot of the things that have become so dear to me on this Island. Carefully curated by my client it depicts so much of the gifts the Island provides and the things that constantly change hands from one neighbor to another. Gifting is bliss, especially when it comes from a place of unity, where no thought is given to who gave and who received. Both parties delight in the exchange, just like oxygen passed from one cell of your body to its neighbor.

21/11/2025

There are so many ways for a painting to come into existence. This one took a bit of unique path.

It all started with a morning walk through the neighborhood with my dog Scruffy. A tight beam of light shown down the steep hills surrounding us, illuminating only one banana plant at the edge of our property. It happened to be a particularly fascinating moment in the plant’s life. Only a few of the bananas had turned a magnificent golden ripe yellow. Down the stalk the color gradually transitioned into a deep forest green, terminating in a richly purple flower. Brightly lit in the morning sun it stood out starkly against the shade-soaked jungle. I wanted to paint it.

I took a picture, which I thought was stunning, but like so many digital memories the picture disappeared into the recesses of my phone. My wife Daisy found it when she took my phone to sift through the collection of random snapshots. She was inspired to write a few words about our banana plant and shared it. Daisy received so many comments and compliments on the picture, that I even heard about it.

I was just about to forget about the picture again, when I was approached by someone at Artwalk: “Do you paint on commission?” - “Absolutely!”, I replied. “Well, your wife Daisy posted this gorgeous picture of a Banana tree. Do you think you could paint that for me?”

I was ecstatic about this request, and I could not wait to get started. I exchanged contact information with my new client. But this project was not ready to stop its twists and turn just yet. The next message I received contained an image of Bad Bunny’s new album cover as inspiration. “Oh boy”, I thought, “I know where this is going!”.

For the next few months, we drove around town with white plastic lawn chairs in my back seat, hunting for the same killer light and beautiful banana plants. I just could not get a lock on my motif. At the height of the dry season every banana was now a crumbled brown mess.

Finally, we were driving down 115 where a new Southeast Asian restaurant had opened: “Woody’s” second incarnation. Predictably my wife wanted to try them out. In the restaurant’s parking lot, I found the most gorgeous row of bananas I had seen in a long time. Under the amused looks of the proprietor, I pulled my lawn chairs out of the car and set up my scene. I took another separate shot of the Rincon/Anasco hills, which were not quite in the background, but off to the side.

Over a few months I worked closely with my client, who had a lot of wonderful input. I drew several versions, one with two chairs and finally the one you see today, I went back to Woody’s for more pictures and used the many-colored Banana Bunch from the original photo as the main focal point and reference.

It is one of my favorite paintings now. It has so much Puerto Rican Spirit, but also a great dose of the exuberant love we have for this place. The picture is clobbered together just like our community in Rincón, glued together with lots of love and serendipity.

07/08/2025

La Sirena Boricua

I have a terrible habit of posting teasers without ever releasing the final result of a project. So let's start with the latest oil painting.

Some of you had followed the progress of the first official collaborative painting in a decade between my wife and me. It was such a thrill to share a canvas again. For some this prospect might be nightmarish, but we are so good for each other, such an incredible match. We can't tell where one of us ends and the other one begins. So while we clearly have different strengths the end result of our combined efforts is always seamless.

The Galería Boriké's instruction to the group was to speak on the subject of Oceans. I will not lay interpretations for the painting on you, but it was a very emotional work. I hope the results speak to you.

The painting is currently on display at Tinto Wine & Charcutería.

05/07/2025

DON'T MISS IT! Tonight from 6 - 8 pm is the big group show Opening Event at Galería Boriké. Here is another teaser of the collaborative painting me and Daisy are Still working on as of this this morning 😬. 7 artists will be showing Ocean themed works. There will be a raffle and a silent auction. Vegan Wanderland will be offering Vegan Sushi. This should be an epic night.

03/07/2025

Come join us for the opening of our group show 'Oceans' this Saturday 6 - 8 pm. Works from the show will be available in the gallery from July 5th to August 3rd.

26/02/2025

If there was a contest of celebrity in town it probably would not be won by a human. The winding palm on the right of this painting can lay as much claim to fame as any person living in this town.

Every Thursday I am seated behind my offering of postcards and prints watching people go by. A good number stop and look and when their eyes pass over a painting of Tres Palmas they inevitably exclaim: "Oh! The squiggly palm!" There is a lot of excitement, as if a familiar face had been discovered in the crowd. Others are called over to look as well. The Squiggly Palm has that special magic that opens us up to the here and now. The strangeness of its marvelous imperfection makes us look to those right next to us. "Do you see what I see?". For a moment we are free from the taxing entanglement of the state of the world and we find ourselves in the midst of our forgotten tribe welcoming us to take a breath.

It's this benevolent magic, this quality of a portal to a direct experience that makes me want to celebrate this tree, protect it and paint it over and over and over.

03/12/2024

Please cast your vote on the Whatsuprincon Reader's choice awards. Both Art of Faust and Galería Boriké were nominated. We are very excited:

This is your chance to celebrate the best local arts and culture - the events, businesses, and artists that make our community vibrant.

02/11/2024

Ceiba tree is the national tree of Puerto Rico. It is a symbol of hope and resilience. One of the most beautiful ancient Ceiba trees is this one located in Vieques.

When one visits a tree of extraordinary size everyone shares in the awe. The enormous timespan that a tree has lived through becomes apparent in the reach of its enormous limbs. People start to talk about the things the tree has seen and the historical events it witnessed. The personhood of the tree is fully awknowledged. The ups and downs of cultures and nations suddenly seem like nothing, but gentle waves that wash against its trunk.

We drove our little golf cart up to the Parque La Ceiba de Vieques. A rain storm had just washed through the area and not another human was in sight. We were alone with the ancient creature.

The tree was enormous.

Brilliantly, concrete benches had been placed in a circle around it with ample distance to take in the full view. We sat for a while then got up to look more closely. With each step the tree grew bigger I realized that all the while my brain had tried to compensate for an error, had told me that the tree must surely be smaller, than it really was. When one finally stands close enough to the trunk to touch it there is no more negotiating with reality. Both of us just mouthed a silent exclamation: “Wow!”.

The tree is so big that different parts of it are going through different seasons. While one part of the tree stands in full flower, another has ripe fruits and yet another just lost its leaves. The limbs look like the spans of a Suspension bridge, yet the tree needs no steel cables. You can hide a little league team between each of the flat wall-like buttress roots. And the giant thorns on the trunk clearly evolved to fend of Mega Fauna like a Giant Sloth. To a human they look more like a climbing aid than a deterrent.

What an honor to meet you, tree!

17/10/2024

The pendulum has swung a full stroke and season is coming back to Rincón. After a long hot summer I am really excited to see everyone again.

I am returning to Rincón's ever growing Artwalk. As always you will find me in front ."Ocean State of Mind". "Galería Boriké" will open its doors this week as well.

I am excited to bring out many new motifs from this summer in the coming weeks and to share more of the work I have done over the years on Social Media. I have some great projects that are just waiting to be shared.

I am also going to offer some watercolor SKETCHES this year for those who would like original work at a lower price point. So keep your eyes peeled for those.

At the opposite end of the spectrum I am expanding my catalog with some larger OIL PAINTINGS which are in work right now. Daisy will be co-creating some of these. That is long overdue.😊

So get ready for an exciting 2024-25 art season in Rincón. We are full of enthusiasm and we hope that everyone will have a fabulous year coming up.💙

24/09/2024

Flamenco Beach Wave Study - April 2024
Every beach has its own signature of waves shapes. And even those wave shapes are slightly different from day to day, from hour to hour, and from wave to wave.

I always wanted to just sit and do doodles of those magical performances of liquid. I finally got around to it on a trip to Culebra a few months back. Here is my first study of Playa Flamenco's gently lapping waves.