Painting #4
This was a real challenge for me...portraits always are. But this one I was motivated to do for a good reason. The man pictured in this painting is my godfather, Patricio Ponce de Leon. That's right...Ponce de Leon! As Cubans go, he is not typical. He is extremely intelligent (a Phd in Botany) and a very interesting person because of his varied interests. Although he is a scientist, he has an artistic streak in him. He also paints. In fact, he and my godmother were always encouraging me to pursue my artistic interests. He has been a great role model for me over the years. We've had numerous conversations about his atheism, always cordial. He will be 94 this year and is in ailing health. I'm not sure how much longer he'll be with us. But he will always remain in my thoughts.
1 comments:
I tried his name, because I worked under him for 3 months at the Chicago Nat Hist Museum back in 1962 (I think it was). I didn't believe he was still alive. Please ask him if he remembers me, Jennifer Puleston... because I sure remember him. I was supposed to be sorting the cryptogamic herbarium into a new system, but we spent so much time with me listening to his amazing tales of botanical collecting trips in Cuba, that I didn't accomplish as much as the chief, Dr Milar, had hoped. My predecessor was my brother's girlfriend, Mia Buehr, who Dr Pat (as we called him) might also remember. I really enjoyed my short time in that little corner of the museum. Dr Pat used to mark the sun's shadow on the cabinet every morning at the same time, which ended up a lovely pattern that indicated the shifting of the earth on its axis. He was also subjecting some (I think they were lichens) terrarium subjects to some Martian conditions to see if they could survive. I went away with a huge respect for Dr Pat. I did disagree with him on some things Ex: he saw Caucasians as being superior to the other races. He said they had bigger brains, though I told him I understood that Asians had a larger brain cavity than Caucasians. Please give him my very warmest regards. You're lucky to have had such a man as a godfather. Funny your parents would have chosen an atheist to be in charge of your religious upbringing (which I believe is the role of the godfather)... jcswamprat@yahoo.com
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