Carlos Gamez de Francisco Emigrated from Cuba to the US for Opportunity, Found it in the Art World

And today I am speaking with artists, Carlos Gamma's differenci scope from his home in Kentucky. It's great to have you here today. Thank you for inviting me, Carlos. I've had a very busy morning. You've been driving all over the place. Cincinnati back to Kentucky. Uh, you just had a solo show. It's a, it's a lot of, uh, effort to be an artist. Uh, yes it is, but I love it. This is what I love since I was five years old. So I think everything I do is that right into the, I was very interesting, uh, interested to read about your growing up in Cuba. It's not something that a lot of Portland art gallery artists can can say is true. Uh, how did you end up, um, making the connection with the Portland art gallery in Portland Maine? Well, last year, um, when the COVID is start, I wanted to, to do changes in my life. I spend too much time in the studio by myself. So one of the things I did, I made a vision board with all the things I want to accomplish in the last 10 years. I always thought that I wanted to, to work with 20 galleries, but I thought it was impossible. But at the end of the last six months, I wanted to throw in five galleries to twin. And I did it, I will say sending emails through galleries that I liked for awhile. And Portland was one of them Behind me. I have a work called dogs and foxes, and it's a very, a unique painting. It's two, it looks like hunting dogs on a purple couch with a couple of foxes underneath and some various insects, some of which seem to be stinging insects, some of which do not seem to be staying in sex. Um, tell me about this Piece. Well, I loved that piece and I was thinking like, um, most of the time when dogs are hunting, they do it, um, because they have, um, a nice sense of smell or they, they know how to find the Cray, but in this case they're going in the wrong direction. So the folks that are hiding and they're they're okay. So there will never be haunted by the dots. So, um, life, sometimes it's like that, uh, we think we're going in the right direction, but then we know, uh, after some failure, so we have to take a different path up until we find what we really want. Uh, the foxes don't seem very concerned in this painting. Yes, they're very, they're very peaceful. You yourself experienced this sort of, uh, going in the wrong direction and needing to kind of pull back, redo things in a different Way. I think life is about that. I think everything in life is about trying different things and try it as much as possible until you succeed. And I see success. Um, success is not having a lot of money or fame is get what makes you happy? Um, so for example, I always meals since I was five years old, that this was my career, and I have told the story many times, but I think you will enjoy it. So I will see in my dad's kitchen table, um, I was drawing with the blue ink and that he was watching the dishes and I asked my dad how the water came out of the faucet. And my dad explained me that water come from the Lake. Then, uh, we both purified it and then it comes to every house and it was, uh, uh, after purifying, it was nice for drinking. So I will throw in everything that my dad told me and my daughter left the kitchen. My mom arrived and she asked me what I was doing. So I explained the same, but my dad told me, but I was only five years old. So my mom was concerned because that wasn't a normal conversation for a kid. So next day, she took me to CSI colleges and told her your song is okay, you're the one that needs the therapy. That's what I knew. This was my to be patient. And I remember the moment and I keep that drawing. So at five years old, knowing that you wanted to be an artist, that's pretty specialized actually. Yes it is. And I asked her taken seriously my career since I was 15. And I remember in Cuba, that was a very difficult period because we have the embargo and we didn't have no resources. So all their supplies to stores were empty. So I have to be very creative. I had two choices. I could, um, I could quit painting or I could, uh, find a solution. So what I did, I was mixing toothpaste with water color. And that way I could create all the textures in my paintings, um, because I didn't have a canvas, I have to take blankets or cardboards. And I was painting. I was using them as support and I was mixing oil, uh, with diesel because I didn't have, uh, uh, the medium. So all this helped me to be more creative and never find an excuse because it's very easy to find an excuse and quit. The difficult part is to keep trying. So when I was 15, I was painting with toothpaste and water color. And I remember it was early in the morning. And when I looked through the window, it was already night and that's when I said, okay, I could do this for the rest, my life. And I will enjoy it every day. When you were growing up, your education was, um, in very Russian inspired from what I understand. Tell me about that. So first before it's starting to be a fine artist, I was just starting to be a dancer. And I did it since I was 11 years old until I was 15. And that helped me everything about discipline that we see also very difficult school as schools in Cuba are, um, um, very difficult to get him because there is a lot of competition. So there were about, uh, 300 people taking tests to going to the school. And we only pass. We were only 26 people who pass the tests and we have two in the morning, we took the normal classes in the afternoon. We were taking all the dance classes. We were taking ballet and European dances. And after that, I have to go with a private teacher because the school was so hard that the only way to pass was, uh, taking classes outside of the school. So my show heard was a lot of training, seven hours a day. And when I switched to fine art, when I was Crispin, I switched, uh, I went to a different artist school. Um, it was, uh, I already have the discipline and painting is in a way this less painful than dancing because dancing, there is a lot of physical pain, but with painting is more the emotional side, uh, but you're seated. So I think, uh, it was a nice, nice idea to switch careers. You also do work in photography and you have, um, a lot of female forms in your photography and, and in a read in very creative ways. Um, we have one in our studio, it's casual decor three, and it's a woman with a mass of Auburn hair with, uh, different things, kind of woven throughout. And this is just one of many examples of the type of photography that you do. What has caused you to get interested in women as a subject for your photography? So I start, uh, working on photo when I, in 2012, I always enjoy it. But when I take a picture, I don't think as say color, I think as a painter and the way I see the compensation, the colors, these in the same way you paint. So I think every photo is built. Uh, I grade everything that the, the environment, when I do it, then the sand, the grasses, um, and it takes sometimes, um, 400 pictures to select the right one. So, um, I went to do her in 2012 to Cuba. I did made a whole series of photo. And then I came back, I think in 2018. And I wanted to photograph the youngest nourish to win because when I left the country told years ago, everything was very different. Now the country is more open in a way, uh, because at my time I didn't have internet at home or, uh, so sorry, internet will send me a thing for me when I came to the us or I didn't have access to a cell phone, or also I didn't have access to America movies. So the new generation, they are able to get these advantages. So they have a new friend, I think, for one to, to go to their houses and meet them, talk to them, know how, uh, they thought, um, how they think. Um, I asked them permission to check every word in their houses. So I was checking in very cold sets in their bedrooms. And I will dress as with found objects that, uh, that were in their houses like curtains or blankets or variable paths, or, uh, even spoons. So I was losing everything I could find. And I spent about two hours, uh, building the grass and I forgot, I took 400 pictures on one. So I'd remember the first time I started taking photos because I didn't know too much about photography. Everything was a frail, uh, I made a lot of mistakes and I couldn't find the perfect lighting and I love Baroque payments. So my goal was to be able to patch the lighting, like, uh, like ruins or for Brandon's paintings. Um, so I want that perfect, um, black background with a light in common to only one side of the face. So I tied on, I made about 3000 pictures. I was working for two weeks and one day it was raining and I couldn't, I couldn't let natural light. So I got the lighting very close to the model and I took a picture and that was the perfect lighting. So I deleted the other 3000 pictures and I called the models again. So they were not very happy about it, but, uh, uh, at the end, the word, and that's when I understood that photography, everything is about how your carts delight in how the lighting comes through the lens. And they're able to show that in the picture. Tell me about this piece that is behind you. So I love this piece. I think all the details I spend about a week only working in the hearse. Um, most of my figures, um, you could see this place, but I lately I've been because, uh, especially in the last year, because of COVID, we haven't been covering or faces. And so most of my finger disturbing cornered by sunglasses or face mask or flowers. So because there is, um, I like that people know who the person is, but I don't want to make it everything so clear. So I want them to imagine how they think this person is. So in this case, I imagine how her face is. And I was thinking to make a second version like this view, but I think this one was, was, uh, uh, it looks so beautiful that I don't want to keep, explain who the person is, so I will leave it in this way. And I love it. How does your family feel about your career as an artist? So I have a funny story about that. My mom, she's very strict and I think it's something about Spanish molders. Um, she, but especially she, uh, she's someone very hard working. I learned, uh, discipline and hard work from her, but also, uh, and she supported me a lot, but she always told me, um, I don't want a mediocre son. I want you to try your best in anything you want, do whatever you love, but try your best. And I remember one-sided in like a school that I, um, so I was taking some classes in our artist school, and one of my teacher came and he saw my drawings and he say something that was a compliment, but I didn't see it in that way, because he said, I will never go as good as you. And instead of taking that as a compliment, I took it as a disadvantage because I went to that school to learn. So next day I talked to my mom and I told her that I wanted to quit and I wanted to go to a different school. And she said, that's okay. And let's go to the school. You want to go, but you need to try your best. So I was painting since I was 15, until I was 17. I was painting for two years, paid hours a day. And then when I was finally 17 close to me to put one of my paintings in the living room. So imagine how strict she was like, she wanted more from me. And that was the first piece that she loved. So I said, okay, if she like it, that means something. So I took that painting to, um, the gallery and I had my first salon exhibition. So she was right. So she had high standards and you work to live up to them. And in the end it paid off. Yes. And even today she's still find mistakes in my paintings. So yes, do has very high standards. And my father, he is more, um, he likes to have a peaceful life. So he gave me a lot of support, but he let me be, uh, in the way I won. He let me take the decisions in the way I want. So it sounds like they balanced each other out very well. When it came to raising you. One of the things I was interested in when I was learning about you is the idea of the story and how things aren't always, as they seem, and especially in, um, growing up in post revolutionary Cuba things, weren't always, as they seemed, this is something in the, in the United States. I think we, um, we sometimes assume that what we see on the news is correct, but you probably always had the sense that it may not always be correct. It may not always be true. Yes. Uh, I love history and I, while I'm painting, most of the time I'm listening to history books or audio books about positive thinking or happiness or business things that I, that I teach me something about the past or the future that I would like to have. So in Cuba learn, um, um, history. And I thought that I need many. I, uh, I knew many things, but when I came to the U S and I went to the art Institute of Chicago, I noticed there was a different history about the same things. Um, and there are many points of view. And that's one thing I love about this country based like everybody has a point of view and we have the freedom of the speech to be able to share that some people don't like it. That's okay. They have their own opinions and some other people like what you said, but we have the right to, to say that and to think I'm acting the way we want. And so, so when you have that freedom, and if you use it wisely, you could get any goal that you want. Tell me what of, um, of your recent things you've been listening to. What's one of your favorite books? So last year when I made my vision board, uh, one of the things that I wanted was to listen to 100 audio books, uh, because in the past I was in Britain that March three years ago, I only listened to six audio books, I think a one year old followed to 23. Um, then, uh, I said, well, if I listen every day, at least for four hours, I will create the habit and I will be able to listen to 100 and I did it. I listened to 103 in a year. So, um, that helped me so much to understand. I think, knowledge make you see life in a different way, because we are, um, when we're in our comfort zone, we're afraid of so many things. For example, when I came to the us, I never, uh, um, drive the car. So the first time I was driving a car, I thought he was, uh, uh, I, I could see an accident everywhere. He goes that in my mind, I thought, uh, that was supposedly, but, uh, once you start doing the same and every time, more and more often that you are, uh, less afraid. Um, and you notice that knowledge and practice give you an advantage. It makes you, uh, it's like painting. When I started painting a painting, like the one you have a bird took me like seven months to create, but now it takes me only five days because I have learned many techniques and I started all the anatomy. Um, um, I think I'm very fit in processes for so long that now, uh, everything is easier. And of those hundred plus books, were there any that stood out for you? There is one that I really lost and it's very simple. It's called the little Prince and he's a French book parent in Cuba, the recent tradition where parents give you that book when you're a child. Um, and that's the first book I'd read when I was a kid. And I decided to, uh, greeted again, uh, last year. And I did it a couple of times, um, is a beautiful book. It teaches you a lot about values and, um, about how we should see life. And there is a lesson I learned from that book when I was a teenager. Um, there is a part in the book that says that there was a scientist there, or someone that wants to give a conference, but he was wearing his traditional quilting. So, uh, nobody pay attention to him. And then he was given a beautiful speech, but nobody cares because the, he was dressed. And so the next year he came and he was worried as sued and everybody was clapping. Why? Because people, we are sometimes we charge just because of the way we dress. And I think, uh, that's not a good thing because we are a stereotype and, and, and that's, uh, we, we need sometimes to meet the people that is in front of us. Um, so, but then when I came to the U S the first time I had a, um, an interview with a gallery, I remember that chapter of the book, and I bought a suit we're in a suit. Um, and even because I had a disadvantage at the time, I didn't know the language, I didn't know the culture. And I remembered the first interview with the gallery because my English was very bad. I was learning of memory, what I had to say. And then I said, okay. So if I remember rise all this three part up, they won't ask me any questions. I will say everything I'd want. So I know you can do that. And then they asked me questions, but I was okay. So I had my first solo exhibition. Um, I want to share with you the story when I came to the us. So I came with only $650 and for a Cuban, that is a lot of money because I'm a doctor is in my country, only make $40 per month. But, uh, for us, that's what I spent in my first day. So I guess I had 600 in our supplies and 50 choose because I love the movie for his gun. And I remember I watched that movie more than 40 times, and I knew all the dialogues in the movie. And I thought that spokes fares could be achieved in the us. We go as far as down there. So I came with all my dreams and I bought a purse and she was like the ones who did, um, at first lady in the us, I was broke. So I said, well, now what can I do? So I went to find a job, but because I didn't know the language and I didn't know anybody. So the only job I found was doing shipping and receiving, and it was, uh, uh, it will send the kind of job that I would, uh, that I thought that would be, um, my dream job. But I knew that was part of the path. And I always had faith that that was, uh, something I had to do in order to achieve my goals. So I was working there nine hours a day. Then I will study in English two hours a day. And then I was painting at night and I'd remember, I was only sleeping five hours a day during the first four months in yours. Um, one day I sent an email to a gallery and they call me, but because my English was so bad, I couldn't understand their questions. And I had of the phone. And I said, this is the last time that something like this will happen to me. I will learn 100 words per day. So my data, he will sit professor in a university in Cuba. And he told me that when you repeat the same, uh, about 11 times, your brain will remember that information will sort of fit in 100 words per day for 11 times. And then after four months, I had my first solo exhibition and I sold all this show. Next day, I quit my job. And I said, okay, now I could do what I love. So I believe when we do, um, where we have passion and discipline and would work hard, we could achieve any goal we want. What do you do for fun? It sounds like you're very disciplined, but on your off time, what do you like to do? So painting? Um, I have the discipline, but I didn't enjoy it. So it's not that I'm doing something I don't like when I'm painting at time flies. And I feel I'm in a peaceful, and I feel that everything is positive. So, and I like to work hard or have a lot of fun. I don't like to be in my bed watching next place. I think it's a waste of time. And so I worked very hard. And then after two, three months, I'd take a vacation and I enjoy it for all the mounts that I was working. Um, I like to travel. I like to go to different countries and my, my in my vision board also, uh, one of my goals is to visit every country in the world. Um, also, um, I like to spend time with friends, but also some of my friends, I have many things in common. They love art. So when we connect and we talk, we're talking about things that we love. And so it's also worked because we share ideas and, and then, uh, uh, from that conversation, many paintings come after that, or, or then, uh, they tell me something I experienced, they enjoy. And then I said, okay, this could be a nice span. So I get an inspiration from everything. Where was the last place you traveled to This month? I was very busy because I had a, several shows. I went to Raleigh, North Carolina. I had some pieces there. And then I went to deliver some paintings in Lexington and South Carolina and Ghana. And also I had a show, a solid submission, and yesterday was the opening at Miller gallery in Cincinnati. So a lot of your travel right now is, um, focused on the work that you do. Yes. Especially because with COVID we can not travel, but, uh, last year I was before we COVID, my goal was to travel to two country every two months. And then I only went to Spain and Portugal. My family is from Spain. And so I go there and visit them very often. Um, and then I was planning to go to Colombia and South Korea and the Philippines, but then they cancel all the flights. So I'm waiting on maybe one more year until we're able to go back and tell them. Now, what part of Spain is your family from? So my, my, what I'm father was from Baya lead, but then they were living in Barcelona. Um, my great-grandparents are my grandparents, so they went to Cuba trying to find new opportunities. And then all my generation left you while trying to find new opportunities. So immigration, um, I think when people go one country to another one, um, because they have so many dreams and they know how difficult life could be in another place. And especially they know that this country has so many advantages. This is a country of opportunities. Um, so when I came, I was ready to work as hard as possible to, uh, be able to get all the things I want. Um, and then I think the only limitations we have are in a reminder. So when we take action, things are happening. Do you have any advice for other young artists who are behind you on the path? So I believe they should train that. I always heard that there are three types of people. The one that thinks a lot, one that talk a lot and the one that takes action. So if you want to be an artist, it doesn't matter what other people think about your paintings, because we all have different opinions about paintings or art. So, um, maybe your paintings want maybe 50% of the people would like them. That's okay. Or maybe 30% or maybe seven, and that's okay, just follow your heart and your intuition and keep doing it. And then if you practice as much as possible and you spend 10,000 hours doing one thing, you will be able to understand that technically and everything will be, uh, will look so good. You will see the difference. Because, uh, when I started drawing, I must say, I will send up there. I, I, I thought it was good, but I wasn't. And one of, um, one thing, one of my teacher told me one day in my drawing class, I was showing one of my drawings, but it was finding excuses because I didn't like the drawing. So I told my teacher, I was 15. I told him that on, sorry, my, this drawing is not good enough because I would feel sick and that they, I wasn't in a good mood to draw. And my teacher said, uh, I don't care. Uh, because when you go to one day, you will exhibit in a museum or a gallery, and you won't be next to the older excuses to the audience. Um, the audience wants to see a good payment. They don't care what is happening in your life. They just want to see a good painting. And that changed my way to see my word after that. I tried to make every painting as good as possible. And when I'm not satisfied with the piece, I put it in the garbage. So every 10 paintings, one goes to the garbage and I know it happens. And sometimes I'm working for six days, 10 hours a day. And I know there is something missing. So I'm doing something with watercolor. They all go to the garbage, because with that technique, you can not make any mistakes with acrylic. I have the advantage that I could come back and try to fix it in the future. So I had a painting in the basement for two years of painting that I didn't like. And last week I decided to see the painting again. I mean, three hours. I fixed it. So two hour, two years of weight and three hours fixing it. I'm not alone. Let's, I've really enjoyed our conversation today. And I appreciate your taking the time to connect with me from your home in Kentucky. Um, I also encourage people to take some time to learn more about you to visit the Portland art gallery website, to perhaps connect with you virtually. I've been speaking with Carlos Gomez scope and, um, I really learned a lot today. So thank you. Thank you so much. It was my pleasure.