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"Oak and Morgan Stance", original art oil painting on canvas.
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This piece is a Commission for Wendy LeGate, owner of OGO Old Growth Oak Morgans.   She purchased many pieces from me with the first being, "Capriole, Vienna", the Lippizan horse Limited Edition print, before she approached with me the proposal of painting something that she could use as a logo for her Morgan horse ranch.   It was a real pleasure working with a patron whose passion for what she does with Morgan horses matched my passion for what I do with paint.  In fact, she sent me so many reference photos of these absolutely beautiful animals she works with, that it took quite a few composite sketches just to decide which beautiful horse and interesting oak to choose for the final painting. 
OGO is in San Jose, California area and we wanted to incorporate the magnificent oak trees that make up the landscape and decorate her property.  This painting was a one year process-almost to date, from conception to completion with progress photos being emailed to Wendy all along the way.  I must compliment her on her trust, as many of the photos probably did not make sense to her, because of the painting style and technique, in which I work.  Many transparent layers are laid over and over again.   Each layer must be allowed to completely dry, before the next wash of color is applied.  Often times, the initial colors are not what a viewer would associate with the subject or item being painted.  On top of it, you have the technical aspect of portraying perspective and saving the final details for last.  This is often when my paintings 'come alive'.

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"

"Fire Knife Dance, Hawaii", original watercolor painting on paper.
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"This piece is another from our annual trips to Hawaii, which always ended with a luau..and this guy.  It actually took me a couple years/trips and a better setup to get my reference photos for this work-due to the bright flames, the pitch dark of night and his fast movement.  Thanks go out to my friend, Mitch, again for helping me with the name.  Otherwise, it would have been titled, That-fire-guy".

NEWS!  "Fire Knife Dance"   Featured in Muscle Polynesia Magazine!  Tui Letuli, Publisher of Muscle Polynesia will be featuring "Fire Knife Dance" in the Magazine.  His father was the originator of the Fire Knife from Samoa. His father just passed away July of last year, but the Fire Knife lives on all around the world. There is a Fire Knife Competition in Samoa sponsored by The Flaming Sword of Samoa in May of 2004 in American Samoa. Letuli will be promoting that event in his Health, Fitness and Muscle Magazine called Muscle Polynesia. He will feature de Castro's painting in that issue of the magazine.

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"Valle de Viñales, Cuba"   Original Art Painting Oil on Canvas of Cuban Country Landscape.  
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Valle de Viñales (The Viñales Valley) is near the western tip of Cuba.  It is a beautiful landscape of hills and caves, where life centers on growing tobacco-strange red leaves almost starved by the salty soil, but brought to life by permanent sunshine.  In the west side of the Cordillera de Guaniquanico, at the foot of the Sierra de los Órganos, lies a region of limestone outcrops known as mogotes.  These huge round-topped hummocks rising out of the ground emerged from the sea more than two million years ago and were formed during the Jurassic period.  Farmers arrived around 1800 and began cultivating tobacco across the region.    200 years later, it is still the lifeblood of the Viñales Valley.   Viñales boasts a unique variety of plant and animal life-some of it in danger of extinction, such as the cork palm, the agabe, the macusey hembra, the alligator oak and the dragon tree.   Several images of Cuba were given to me by a family member, after his visit there.   I painted "Valle de Viñales, Cuba" for my husband, Havana born, to remind him of his homeland.