Obed Gómez a.k.a. "The Puerto Rican

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

" (born 1966) is a Puerto Rican artist of

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

Early years

Gómez was born and raised in Santurce, a section of in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

, the capital city of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. His grandmother was the first to believe that someday he would become an artist when she saw him drawing at the age of three. He received his primary education in a public school, however when he was eleven he took private art classes. He was sent to the League of Art of San Juan, where he took classes in drawing and painting. After Gómez graduated from high school, he enrolled in the University of the Sacred Heart in San Juan. He also studied simultaneously at the Andres Buseo Academy where he took art classes. He earned his bachelor's degree in Communications with a minor in visual arts from the University of the Sacred Heart.Club 700
/ref> At first he was not successful as an artist and instead he faced personal problems which kept him from fulfilling his potential as an artist. His life changed when he moved to

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

in 1995 and met his future wife Sarah Lloyd. Sarah encouraged him by insisting that he accompany her to art shows. She inspired him by telling him that he too could produce works of art. He also became a born again

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. Gomez set up an art studio in a spare room of his home.

Artistic style

Gomez developed a style which ranges from vividly realistic to wildly abstract, with a lot of luscious whimsy in between.Orlando Sentinel
/ref> His subjects may vary from a dancer to a rooster with the colors of the

Puerto Rican flag The flag of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Bandera de Puerto Rico) represents and symbolizes Puerto Rico and its people. The origins of the current flag of Puerto Rico, adopted by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1952, can be traced to 1868, whe ...

. The culture and heritage of Puerto Rico are represented in many of his paintings. Gomez's trademark is the bold and bright hues he favors. His art work have appeared on the covers of the ''Puerto Rican Professional and Business Leaders Guide'', the ''brochure for Orlando's Puerto Rican Parade'' and ''O! Arts Magazine''.

Exhibitions

His art work was exhibited at the Galeria Latina in

Cornwall, England Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

where a critic nicknamed him the "Puerto Rican Picasso". His work has also been exhibited at the following places:

Solo exhibitions

* 1995 - Universidad del Sagrado Corazon, Santurce, PR * 1999 - Puerto Rican Parade Art Exhibit, Orlando, Florida 99 * 1999 - Sears Art Exhibit, Orlando, Florida * 1999 - Lockheed Martin-Orlando, Florida * 2000 - Puerto Rican Parade Art Exhibit, Orlando, Florida * 2001 - Darden's Hispanic Heritage Art Exhibit, Orlando, Florida * 2001 - Orlando Public Library Art Exhibit, Orlando, Florida * 2003 - Office of the Governor of Florida, Orlando, Florida * 2004 - Moore Multicultural Center at Brevard Community College, Cocoa, Florida * 2004 - Valencia Community College East Campus, Orlando, Florida * 2005 - "Childhood Memories" Art Exhibit, Brevard Community College, Cocoa, Florida * 2005 - "The Colors of Life" Art Exhibit, The House of Arts, Casselberry, Florida * 2006 - Solo Exhibit, Solo Exhibit Dale Mabry Campus Art Gallery, Tampa, Florida

Group exhibitions

* 1999 - Latin American Art Exhibition, Valencia Community College-Orlando, Florida * 2000 - Orange County's Hispanic Art & History Exhibit, Orlando, Fl. * 2000 - Lockheed Martin-Orlando, Florida * 2000 - Latin American Art Exhibition, Valencia Community College-Orlando, Florida * 2000 - Festival Taino 2000, Las Americas Museum of Art - Kissimmee, Florida * 2000 - Hispanic Heritage Celebration, Lockheed Martin-Orlando, Florida * 2000 - Orange County's Hispanic Art & History Exhibit, Orlando, Florida * 2001 - Historical Society of Central Florida Hispanic Art Exhibit Orlando, Florida * 2001 - Hispanic Heritage Art Exhibit 2001 Orlando, Florida * 2001 - Shin-Dig

Orange County Regional History Center The Orange County Regional History Center is a private non-profit history museum located in downtown Orlando, Florida, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or Ameri ...

Orlando, Florida * 2001 - Lockheed Martin-Orlando, Florida * 2001 - Puerto Rican Parade Art Exhibit, Orlando, Florida * 2001 - Latin American Art Exhibition, Valencia Community College-Orlando, Florida * 2004- "Travel, Adventure & Motion" Platform #3 Exhibit, Lakeland, Florida * 2004- "La Dolce Vita Exhibit" 1st Thursdays at The Orlando Museum of Art (OMA), Orlando, Florida * 2004- Pura Vida Gallery, Atlanta, GA * 2004- "Colores del Caribe", Casselberry City Hall, Casselberry, Florida * 2004- Brevard Museum of Art & Science, Melbourne, Florida * 2004- "The Floridian-Puerto Rican Art Connection" Kissimmee City Hall, Kissimmee, Florida * 2005- "Hispanic Expressions" Art Exhibit, University of Central Florida (UCF), Orlando, Florida * 2005- "Presencia Boricua" Art Exhibit, Museum Of The Americas(MoA), Miami, Florida * 2005- "Latin Fusion", Casselberry City Hall, Casselberry, Florida

Honors and recognitions

In 2003, Gomez was named the godfather of the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Puerto Rican Day Parade. In 2004

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, choose Gomez's artwork to decorate the set of "Division". In that year, he was also awarded the Paoli Award in the Visual Arts Category. Even though some of his paintings have sold for over $5,000 (U.S. Dollars), Gomez has donated many of his works to children fund raising auctions. He also created the web page for "Give Kids the World", an organization which grants wishes to children with life-threatening diseases.

Currently

Obed Gomez is currently a graphic designer, painter and a youth art professor. He lives in Orlando with his wife and children.

References

External links

*http://www.obedart.com/sentinel.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez, Obed 1966 births Living people Puerto Rican painters People from Santurce, Puerto Rico People from Orlando, Florida Converts to Christianity Date of birth missing (living people)