A FLORIDA CARICATURIST
A vacation trip to Las Vegas in 1991 changed my life forever. For three hours, I had the opportunity to observe a caricature artist draw a bunch of people and collect around $300 for his artwork. While he was working, he was also able to kindly answer many of my questions and gave me several tips that helped me later on, become an artist myself. As soon as I came back home to Tampa I began to draw people from TV programs, magazines. I also drew friends and even my dog, Charlie (R.I.P.).




SEVERAL MONTHS LATER...
I joined a new group then being formed called the National Caricaturist Network. In 1992 we had our first convention in Cozumel, Mexico, with only 15 registered members. Today, our membership which includes other countries, is over 500.
When I felt more confident about my caricatures, I printed some business cards, put my name on the Yellow Pages and began receiving calls from customers who wanted me to entertain their private parties or corporate events. I also signed up
for festivals and art fairs taken place on weekends, and traveled with either my tent or my large umbrella.



BORN IN LIMA, PERU
While in high school at Lima San Carlos, I was a member of the soccer team that won the national title during my senior year. I enjoyed playing with very talented guys that, eventually some of them turned professional. It was around that time that I convinced my dad to send me to college in the U.S.A. for which, first, I had to spend a couple of years going to a language academy, just to improve my English skills.

MY DREAMS CAME TRUE
Once the U.S. Embassy in Peru granted my a student visa, I landed in Miami on a hot and muggy September day, and two days later I was attending classes at Florida College, in Tampa. The following year I transferred to the University of Southern Mississippi, in Hattiesburg, and eventually I graduated as a Biologist from the Illinois Institute of Technology, in Chicago. Soon thereafter I became a resident alien, and for several years I worked in quality assurance laboratories of two major corporations. In the middle eighties when I moved to Tampa, and for the next 20 years, I was employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, inspecting and grading citrus products.



MY WATERCOLOR PAINTINGS
A few years ago I began attending watercolor workshops with well-known artists as Frank Webb, Tony Couch and Pat Weaver. Lately, I have renewed my interest in this field, to the extent that I am trying to do at least two paintings per week. One of my dreams is to become a "starving artist", by travelling around the country to art fairs and perhaps selling some of my watercolors.


MY CARTOONING
I recently came up with a one-panel, cartoon idea. It's about a character (that I have named: "MEANIE"), that is constantly challenged by his inner-self, and who contradicts himself with the sweet and polite manner he appears to relate to people in everyday situations.

MY MURAL
My first and only mural, so far. I used acrylics and had a good time doing it. Maybe someday I will travel around the country with my paints and my ladder...and become a "starving muralist"...

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