I worked hard to capture the spirit, colors and life of Puerto Rico. The El Morro painting is one that does just that. All of my original paintings from Puerto Rico have sold. The fine prints are still available and are still very popular. I intend on returning to Puerto Rico very soon.
If you have anything special from Puerto Rico that you would like me to capture in a painting please write me and let me know. Below please find the works I have done for Puerto Rico.
Maga is closely related to hibiscus but unlike the common hibiscus, the Maga is a tree. The maga is native to Puerto Rico and is grown in tropical climates as an ornamental plant, but it’s valued elsewhere for its durable timber, which is used for furniture.The Hibicus blooms in a wide variety of colors, but it is the red from Montezuma speciosissima which is the official flower of Puerto Rico. You can find it in few countries in the Caribbean and in the South of Florida. It can reach between 9 to 15 meters high (30 to 50 feets),. The tree blooms with 5 petals red flowers all year long. The Maga flower is also known as “flor de Candelaria” and is considered a Puerto Rican symbol.
The coquí - little frog, as it is called in Puerto Rico, has only a minute tail when it is born, and this quickly disappears. Its length ranges between 15mm-80mm and the color of the coquí varies considerably - green, brown and yellowish, sometimes having touches of different colors or two dorsolateral stripes. The genera Eleutherodactylus, which in Greek means free toes. As the name indicates, this genera has no inter digital membrane, which could indicate that they are not adapted to swim. All coquies have disks or pads on the tips of their toes, to help them adhere to surfaces, like moistened leaves. Coquis reproduce year-raound in Puerto Rico, but breeding activity is concentrated in the wet season. This species utilizes internal fertilization and like other eleutherodactylids, the fertilized eggs undergo direct development, rather than passing through a free-living larval (tadpole) stage, which means the parents don’t have to lay their eggs on water, as it happens with other amphibians. The “tadpole” stage occurs entirely within a terrestrial egg, rather than as a free-living larval stage, and adult features form directly, sometimes bypassing the stages normally present in tadpole ontogeny (Hung and Elinson 1996, Hanken et al. 1997). Thus, a tiny but fully functional froglet hatches directly from the egg. Coquis deposit 4-6 clutches of about 28 eggs each (range 16-41) per year, with a development period of 17-26 days. Males guard the eggs to keep them from drying out and remain in the nest for a few days after they emerge. It is a very popular creature throughout the island and enlivens the evenings with its timid ko-kee from which it get its name. The coquies begin to sing when the sun goes down at dusk, singing all night long until dawn. The male coquí sings - not the female. You can find the coquí nearly everywhere, from the margins of the forests where the areas receive large amounts of moisture, in highlands, lowlands, dry and arid places, even in caves depending on the species.
Click the coqui above to see a great example of Puerto Rico art also known as Puerto Rican Art.
Green Iguana
Physical Appearance: Full-grown green iguanas are usually between four and six feet, although they have been known to grow up to seven feet long. This includes the tail, however, which can make up about half the body length and, in addition to its green color, has black stripes. Green iguanas, not surprisingly, are green in color, but can be found in many different shade ranging from bright green, to a dull, grayish-green. Their skin is rough, with a set of pointy scales along the iguana’s back. Green iguanas have long fingers and claws to help them climb and grasp. Habitat: Iguanas live in tropical rainforest areas, generally in lower altitudes in areas near water sources, such as rivers or streams. They spend most of their time high in the forest canopy, about 40-50 feet above the ground.
Guacamayas Rojas
Una de las más hermosas aves de América es la guacamaya roja, denominada además Papagayo. Su nombre cientifico es Ara Macao y pertencen a la familia de los Psitacidos. Se encuentran en las selvas de Guatemala, Belice, Costa Rica, Panamá, Colombia, Venezuela, Surinam, Isla Trinidad, Perú, algunas partes de Mexico, el norte de Bolivia y la región del Mato Grosso en Brasil. Extinta en El Salvador, Honduras y Nicaragua. Tienen un hermoso plumaje de rojo a escrlata y los inferiores de un intenso azul. Son aves monogomas que permancen con su pareja hasta la muerte. Son aves de vuelo alto, que recorren grandes distancias para alimentarse y obtener frutos de amate, palmas, chicozapote, ramón, vainas y flores, brotes tiernos y algunos insectos, los cuales constituyen sus alimentos favoritos y están esparcidos en extensas áreas. Su hábitat son las selvas altas, siempre verdes, junto a grandes ríos tropicales.
Por: Marissa Pinzón (derechos reservados)
Es una tarde azul y soleada observamos felices, estamos en la tierra que enlaza a el mundo, la tierra que cuenta con aves, mariposas, monos y otros animales que de otros lados ya están extintos. En donde vemos dos mares, miles de montañas, ríos, lagos y árboles gigantes. En donde el sonido de la selva lluviosa es inconfundible, y en donde la temperatura es casi la misma todo el tiempo, pero con confianza se puede mencionar que allí viene el agua.
Oh! va a llover, así que solo nos queda poner todos los sentidos a funcionar en busca de una predicción, cuanto faltara para que llegue la lluvia? Es muy fácil de saber al ver las nubes grises aproximarse, o por el peculiar olor a humedad, el sonido violento de las hojas en los árboles chocando unas contra otras, los rayos que nos asustan y los truenos que se acercan. Tambien podemos sentir que pronto lloverá no solo en nuestro rostro al rozar con la brisa, sino en todo el cuerpo al compás de la tierra que parece temblar. Asi mismo como nosotros lo sentimos, los animales también lo perciben y corren o vuelan en dirección opuesta a la tempestad. Cuando las primeras gotas comienzan a caer sobre el suelo verdoso, el olor de la tierra caliente con el agua que se evapora se torna mas fuerte. El retumbe de los truenos ahora esta sobre nosotros.
El poderoso viento nos trata de empujar y por supuesto nuestros cuerpos se comienzan a mojar. Al cabo de unos minutos de fuerte torrencial y de seguir caminando sobre los charcos de agua, se ve que empieza a escampar. Seguimos nuestro sendero tratando de cubrirnos bajo la sombra de los frondosos árboles que detienen las gotas.La lluvia que con tanto ímpetu vino así mismo se va. Los truenos se escuchan cada vez mas lejos, las luces de los rayos ahora son solo reflejo. Un clima fresco y unas cuantas gotas mas, es todo lo que nos queda de una lluvia torrencial. Ya hasta nuestras ropas se comienzan a secar, puesto que en el cielo detrás de las nubes, nuevamente el sol brillara.
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