Gild the Lily (Decadence Upon Decadence I)

These new Oil paintings are inspired and based on indigenous flora and
vegetation that grow in both the Caribbean and throughout the Gulf of Mexico.
The colonial discovery of gold in Puerto Rico by the Spaniards (who also
brought North African Moors and Jews) were taken from the river Manatuabon
by Ponce surrounded by exotic tropical floral and vegetation. Enough gold was
mined until 1530 to establish over $4 million in Spanish bullion. Hence the use
of real 24kt gold leaf on the paintings. These new works are meant to carry hope
that contain melancholic notes of the past that was created by pillaging the
natural landscape to find gold and currency. This is my re-imagined
replacement of untouched territory that contained magical moments of natural
beauty that lived and breathed on top of minerals that eventually brought wealth
and abundance to a particular culture.