Mi Ranchito en Maturín, Venezuela

Mi Ranchito en Maturín
Oil on Masonite Board
7×5 inches
Sold

As you might have already read I was born in Venezuela from Italian parents, so technically I’m Italian by race, but Venezuelan by place of birth.

Venezuela is a beautiful country or it was at least, before the communism and Chavez (the new leader) put a hand on the country. It was as I remembered a country of contrast and striking beauty, with the most unbelievable landscapes, from snowed mountains up to deserts and from paradise tropical beaches to the rainy forest of the Amazon.

Through out my life I lived in many places in Venezuela. Caracas, Puerto Ordaz, Puerto La Cruz and Maturín to name a few, and visited many, many more. While living in Maturín one of the things that I liked the most about the landscape was the varied yet unique vegetation of the area. Almost dry or with poor vegetation and where the subterranean rivers would cross the land the was like an oasis of trees and Moriches as they are called. I can talk and talk about Venezuela all day long and never get tired about it, because it has so much to offer from the artist point of view, yet is a mess of a country in many, many ways.

This particular piece, was inspired by a small village outside of Maturín that we would pass everytime we were going to a friends house, where they had their dog kennel business in a beautiful farm like house. I remembered this place and I looked for the reference picture because a couple of days ago my friend Damelis emailed me just to say hi, and all the memories of those beautiful places came rushing to me. I’ll be posting in the next few days more paintings from Venezuela, so bookmark my blog. To view details or to purchase the painting please click here. If the painting doesn’t receive bids it will go to my website www.manuelavalenti.com at studio value.