Help and Information



For all my Latin Brothers and Sisters ( eljefe2) because of the on-going economic crisis I have decided to put this link here so you can check out some of the Latest information regarding the crisis.

The New Realm of Hunterseeker



____________________

1. Rhode Island Latino.com
2. Libertad Digital TV Spain
3. Mi Barrio.org
4. Tony’s Home Page
5. Puertoricans .com

___________________

Art Print


For all of my Puerto Rican readers and art fans you will be interested to know that you can view a number of my art prints at Galeria W. Labiosa in Old San Juan, 200 Tetuan Street, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00901-1517
Tel. ( 787 ) 721-2848.

This is one of my more popular prints ( below ) available there. The title is ” Buen dia don Roberto ” and is hand signed by me and measures 16” x 20”.

Buen dia don Roberto

Buen dia don Roberto

Slideshow of My Artwork and Christmas Cards

Friday, October 13, 2006

Piñones, Piñones, where have you gone"




© Roberto Hernández 2006





Since the beginning of 1980 I had strolled down the beaches along the coast of Piñones and Loiza having fallen in love with this mysterious and almost mystical stretch of beach. There were times in which I might have spent almost a week in this area collecting material for my paintings and passing the warm tropical days fishing and relaxing in tropical decadence that must have been what Gaugain had experienced in Tahiti. From the moment I set foot on those beaches I fell in love with the atmosphere, the smells and aromas, the people and their customs. Any mention of a trip to this area was all I needed as an excuse to go rushing there. I recall the days we would spend catching crabs by the bucket-full and plunging them into boiling water to enjoy a meal of freshly caught crabs. I recall the times when the whole community would ban together to string out the long gill net. This was a community venture and men women and children would all be out there to lend a hand in the task. The boat would pull the long net out into the surf in a wide arch until they came back to shore where the people would grab the end and begin to haul. Slowly the net would make its way toward shore bringing in the bounty of the sea. Slowly the net would yield its catch and the children and women would collect the fish and put them in buckets and sacks. At the end of the even the catch would be divided among the people and slowly everyone would make their way back towards their wooden shacks. The event would be replaced by the un-mistakable smell of fresh fish being made in all manner of ways. Back then, before the intervention of the tourist minded government there was much joy there. I still recall the sound of the bongo’s and congas during the evenings and well into the nights. I recall the multitude of people that would gather along those beaches to enjoy the delicacies of the many wooden kioskos that would make their “ Frituras “ there in front of you with the smell of burning wood all around. I recall the many night spots where people would and did spend the entire weekends in continuous parties. I recall the young men that would swim out early in the morning in search of the octopus that were holed up in the reef and stone. One would also see the many fishermen starting their day rowing out to spend the day at their labors. This was a region of life that pulsed and vibrated. This was a region where one could get lost in the past and hear stories of by gone days. One could still hear stories of the times of the Spaniards and their cruelty to the people from those the few old people that had lived through those times. I recall many a story from this region and the imagery it would provoke in my imagination. Ah at last those days are now gone. Jogging paths for the tourist and the rich replaced the old sandy trails. Cement kioskos replaced the wooden ones and where there were wooden fires now there are none. The people struggle to maintain a semblance of the past but to no avail. The constant pressures of government, private industry and the rich will eventually wipe out what is left like one great tsunami. Gone will be a region rich in the past and in culture. The last to go will probably be our cherished Vejigantes which can still be seen on the roads during the festivities of Loiza. Their costumes will someday hang on the walls of some Western Museum, a reminder of what was.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Puerto Rican Christmas Cards

Below are some of my more memorable Puerto Rican Christmas Cards.














Friday, October 06, 2006

Passion

Passion : fervor, ardor, obsession, infatuation, excitement, enthusiasm, zeal, craze, delight. These are the synonyms for passion as described in a thesaurus. Life : existence, being, time, living. These are the synonyms for life as described in a thesaurus.

I have given much thought to the subject of passion in life ever since my last trip to New York in October, 2004. I guess the first synonyms for passion put it well as well as the synonyms for life. To have a passion for something would mean that first you must discover this “ thing “ that is to awaken the passion within us. I do not feel that it has to be something big.
A persons life style can be permeated with a passion for living in which case it is not actually one thing that the passion springs from but being immersed in a constant succession of experiences which provide the person with the stimulus to feel the passion of the moment or experience. I think that for most people they feel their passion when they are engrossed in something that really turns them “ on “. For some it can be music, art, dancing, singing, sports, etc., etc. The list and its diversity can be endless. I think that it is a sad state of affairs when an individual cannot feel passion for anything. In that case it can easily be said that the individual has no excitement for existence, no enthusiasm for being, no zeal for living. This person derives no joy from anything. Luckily these individuals are few in number and many of those can be termed as being totally depressed.

Simply put passion in life comes from grasping at that thing or things that bring us joy and which we look forward to doing or participating in. Like life passions change during life or because of it. Our status in life is something that would affect our passion or passions to some degree. A person with an infatuation for thoroughbred horses and a pocket full of lint is obviously not going to realize his passion! So, to some degree our passions are tempered by our pockets. Fortuneately, in our modern times most people are in a position to realize their passion to a somewhat satisfactory degree. About the only thing that I can think of that would be a deterrence to an individual seeking his passion would be the individuals state of “ free will “.

A short tale
















Thursday, October 05, 2006

Buen dia don Roberto


This is one of my most recognized pieces on the island. The title is " Buen dia don Roberto" and it is a self portrait showing me in the upper right hand corner being greeted by a " Campesino ".
It is an offset print that measures 16"x20" and has been a very popular piece in the various gallery's that have dealt with it. This piece can be said to be a montage of the island, from the coast to the mountains. It shows people in everyday life going about their chores ( or not ). A son returning from the state's, a couple strolling along the beach, the Vejigantes practicing for a parade. The usual Colmado scene of the " boys " hanging out. Of course there are children in their care free manner running about enjoying the youth of their lives. And there is more to come.

Images, Paintings and Photograph's of a Puerto Rican Artist






The following pages represent a short narrative of of my life as an artist in Puerto Rico. This is just the start and obviously there will be more as time goes on.

Roberto Hernández

Born in Brooklyn, New York of Puerto Rican parents in 1949. Studied drawing, painting and fine arts illustration from 1973 to 1977 at the Art Students League of New York under Thomas Fogarty Jr., Earl Mayan, Steven Kidd, John Groth and Gregory de Alesio. His works are chosen as fine examples and appear regularly in the Arts Students League catalog during these years. In 1979 Hernández, along with his wife and two sons move back to Puerto Rico where he begins to exhibit his works in local galleries among them The Caleta then owned by Luis Cajiga, and in Galería Eugenio until 1986. His works have been exhibited in such galleries as Galerías Prinardi, Galería Duey, Mariangel Galería, Le Vintage, Galería Soto just to name a few. In 1984 he worked on the set decoration for the “Smugglers Blues “ episode of Miami Vice filmed in Old San Juan under the direction of Paul M. Glaser of Universal Studios. It is during this time that he began working in the art department of Pava Prints, Inc., where he worked on silkscreen cards of Jack Delano and Lorenzo Homar. His Christmas card illustrations have been a yearly contribution for over 2 decades and are widely known throughout the island and in Puerto Rican communities in the states. He has done special designs for such clients as COSVI, The Taylor Corporation, Citi-Bank, R&M Sportswear, Banco Cooperativo, Café Yaucono, El San Juan Hotel and Casino, World Services and Farmacia Caguas just to name a few. In 1995 he leaves Pava Prints, Inc., and proceeded to work in silkscreen printing as well as wood carving.