Like every day and especially on those when the arrival of cruise ships with tourists is expected, in the beautiful coastal city of Puerto Plata, the artist Rafael Tolentino begins his day of brush painting in the central park, in the early hours of the morning. tomorrow to have dry merchandise ready to sell.
Rafael Tolentino is a skilled and picturesque artist from Puerto Plata, 75 years old, who for decades has made a living selling small works of art (paintings) of his authorship to foreign and local tourists at a low cost.
This painter (caricaturist and landscape painter), actor, singer and writer, among other facets, takes advantage of his rich inspiration and knowledge of the vegetation, beaches, birds, people and, above all, the beautiful architecture of the historic center of this city to feed his imagination and skill, and thus represent the most beautiful and varied images of Puerto Plata.
“Since the age of 5 I have been painting. The first beatings my parents gave me were for using the notebooks they bought me to study, to draw.
After a while I began to study painting in institutes and schools. I also got to have private teachers,” he said of Rafael Tolentino.
Thanks to his brilliant artistic work and his knowledge of the daily life and intimacy of his land and his town, he can create small works of art with very bright colors and a very finished visceral representation.
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It has a huge catalog of small works ranging from 5×7, 8×10 and 16×20 inches, and there may be larger works. The small paintings are sold between 3, 5, 10 dollars, since they are express works for immediate sale made of fabric, without wrapping and without frames.
Showy and colorful framboyan trees, houses, sunrises, sunsets, birds, beaches, palm groves, flowers, cable cars, mountains, farmers, architectural drawings of the historic center of the city, and more are part of its inventory.
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“Although my specialty is framboyan trees and sunrises, I paint everything related to Puerto Plata. I sell from the artist to the tourist and thanks to this, without the intermediation of a store, I can sell my paintings at a better price,” said Tolentino.
Biography
Rafael Tavárez Tolentino was born in Puerto Plata on July 12, 1945. He is a man well known in this city for his multifaceted life that ranges from actor, writer of film scripts and the creation of fantastic characters that have never been commercially exploited.
