The fascination for the Academic Tradition comes from seeing the paintings of my great grandfather and his teacher, Arturo Michelena, who studied at the Julian Academy under Jean-Paul Laurens. My grandfather, a skilled m draftsman, introduced me to this art and told me that, after Michelena passed away, his father had sent a portfolio to Laurens, which was very well received, but, due to family matters, never realized his dream of studying in Paris.

  I, instead, was accepted at the Florence Academy of Art in 2013, and managed to finish the drawing program; eventually having to return home to Miami, because of economic impediments. Fortunately, former students of both the Angel and the Florence Academies opened Chiaroscuro Atelier. Here, I can finally learn those principles and lessons that my ancestor couldn't, and fulfill both his and my dreams of becoming a painter with a deep understanding of the techniques required to make quality works of art.     I’m now starting to paint in oils with this method and am scheduled to finish my training in about a year.     The beauty of Realism, it’s technical rigor and honesty, seen through the infinitely subjective experience of the painter, is what I’d like to charge my work with, in a way accessible to the contemporary public. After concluding my studies, I would eventually like to teach people in my present shoes and be part of this Realist, Academic revival in the XXI century, particularly in Miami, where this kind of art is still so unknown.