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My Galleries
Landscapes
Religious
Military
Political Messages
Abstracts
Still Life
People
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My
Biography |
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The Baby Years: |
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| Estefán Garcia-Gargost was born in Waterbury,
Connecticut in 1967.
As I understand it, I was a premature kid (two months
early). Some scientists say that I should be less
intelligent and have less friends. I should start working
on a list of friends I need to get rid of in order to meet the
stereotype. I am the second child of four surviving
children. |
Here is my Mother holding me.
We are
back in Puerto Rico, where I grew up. At this point I had
not displayed any artistic inclinations. I wonder why!
My Mom has some artistic inclination, and so does my Dad.
Dad seems to always find time to create something. |
My Parents, Julio Garcia and Pilar
Agosto. They've been married since 1965. They have supported my love for the arts. Mom
even owns a great number of my paintings. By then
Dad had already left the U.S. Army, and settled for a civilian career. |
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| My Sister, Olga and I. She is married
to Gary and they have two sons (Kyle and Sean), and a
little girl (Kaitlyn). Olga used to write poetry when
she was younger, and she even won some awards for her
writings. It is to her that I owe my love for reading and
writing poetry. They live in Florida.
I have two younger brothers, Juan and Julio.
Juan is married to Celie and they have a daughter called Celian.
Julio is married to Syamara, and they have two daughters,
Julymar and Lyamara. My brothers live in Puerto Rico. |
Me in my "Field Day"
(or as we said it back in PR, "fil day") outfit in Kindergarten. I had already begun to develop a great interest
for art at this point. I remember how much I loved to draw
with crayons on the big sheets of paper. We used to go to
our Church's summer camp every year, and I enjoyed the arts and
crafts classes. Mom says I spent more time making designs
with my food that eating it. I do remember taking the
yellow rice (arroz guisa'o) and separating the beans, olives,
and other vegetables and making all sorts of patterns with them. |
Mom and I in
Toa Alta, Puerto Rico. Toa Alta is a sizable city some
15-20 minutes southwest of San Juan. We moved there to a
sprawling community. I remember that for quite some time
the sound of the hammer could be heard just about everywhere you
went. We lived there until we moved to the U.S. in 1982. |
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| Me as a first grader. That
outfit almost looks like one of my abstracts. I'm sure Mom
took this photo; she always managed to cut people's head off (in
photos, not in real life, I think! :-). |
Me graduating from First Grade. If I remember
well, this photo was taken immediately following my
graduation. There weren't that many photo places when I was
growing up, and definitely not in the suburbs, so it was always
fun to go to the city. |
7 Years Old. At this age I
had created the first
drawing I can remember, and with great detail. My Dad was
napping in the sofa and I took a piece of notebook paper and a
blue ink pen and
created a great rendition of his face. I showed it to my
Mom and she thought Dad would not appreciate it, so I threw it
away. Later on she told him about it, admitted it truly
looked like him, and Dad wished I had kept it. |
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From Child to Young Man: |
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| Me in Bershire, New York. My first
time away from home. By this age (16) I had created
numerous works of art. I was then studying with Mary Concidine, Waterbury, CT. She taught me a great deal about
art, and she greatly inspired me to become the artist I am
today. |
Me running my
first marathon in
Connecticut... I may be smiling, but I don't
think I was too close to the first guy to cross the finish line. Running is one of
my passions. That same year I joined my High School's
Cross Country Team along with my younger brother, Juan. Just because I am an artist doesn't mean that
I can't be athletically inclined. Some of my other
athletic passions are Soccer, Gymnastics, Weight-lifting, and
Bicycling. By this time I was
studying art with Dr. Andrew Sirica. A great man with a
great sense of humor, Dr. Sirica taught me to plaster my "self"
to the canvas, not paint. |
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As an Adult: |
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| Me in Washington, DC. I arrived here
in 1999. The exact time and date: 28 Feb 99,
2220hrs. I swear it is true... The Army must have
it somewhere on record.
By then I had worked in as many professions as you can
imagine: Teaching, Physical Therapy, Hamburger Flipping, Public
Health Education, Youth Minister, etc...
I must admit I wasn't very excited
about coming to DC. My last visit to DC was somewhere in
the first half of the 80's. It did not leave a great
impression in me. Nevertheless, DC has come a long way, and I
enjoy being here.
I had just finished studying
with Luis Germán Cajiga, a great Puerto Rican painter and a long
time family friend. Cajiga works with acrylics on canvas as well as
serigraphs. It is practically impossible to go anywhere in
Puerto Rico and not find his artwork decorating the walls.
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Me at The Old Guard Ball, 2000. I joined the Army in
1998. My first painting in the Army was "Soldier".
You can find it in the Military Page. All I had to work
with was Tempera, a pencil, and cotton swabs. The painting
was meant as a gift for Drill Sergeant Morris, but I never got
to see him before I left Boot Camp.
When Drill Sergeant Bolser saw "Soldier" he then
had me create a painting of a cowboy at the entrance of our
barracks. I don't know if the painting remains there, but
if it is you can go to Bravo Company, 169th Training Battalion
to see it.
I was then picked up by The Old Guard, and became the
Executive Assistant to the Command Group. Lots of hours of
work left me little room for Art. Yet I managed to create
a decent number of paintings during my tenure. In four
years I went through three ranks and numerous awards and
recognitions. I terminated my enlistment as a Sergeant and Squad
Leader.
Click here to see all the
awards I received while in the Army: |
Me somewhere
along the Delaware in August 2001. One of my true
passions is Nature. Hiking, Camping, Cave Exploring...
You name it and I'll do it. Growing up I shared this
passion with my youngest brother, Julio, who always seemed to
find some of the coolest places to explore. |
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My Life as an Artist: |
| In 1983 I participated in my first Art
Competition, wining a price for Texture and Color. Until
1987 I continued participating in several group Art Exhibits in
Connecticut, USA. Prior to 1983 I dedicated
myself to painting and writing (poetry and
religious/philosophical). I remember buying my first paint
set. It was the year Prince Charles and Princess Diana
married. I created several portraits of the couple,
and one portrait of the Princes alone. All other
artwork was with pencils, crayons, and paints supplied during
classes. The most recurrent subject then was the life and
death of Jesus. |
In 1984 I created a mural* in Wilby High
School, Waterbury, Connecticut, and it was published in the
"Waterbury Republican" newspaper. The mural was created
with John Bozzuto, a HS Senior, under the supervision of Dr.
Andrew Sirica. Other newspaper articles followed, though
not always about my art, but someone else's. *
I ceased from creating murals in 1998, when after painting a
mural in the Universidad Adventista de las Antillas in the
President's office, the incoming President, had it painted over
in order to fit her Victorian style that included silk flowers
and gold, mauve and forest green colors. A wall can always
be decorated with a canvas large enough to cover it. |
In 1986 two of my short stories
were published in a internal book by the University of
Connecticut. Both stories were depictions of my own
experiences, though exaggerated. In 1988, while at the
Universidad Adventista de las Antillas, I wrote my first play.
It had a very good receiving, and it was played several times in
the same year. |
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| In 1990 I had my first solo Art Exhibit, at the
"Universidad Adventista de las Antillas", Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.
The event was made possible by the assistance of the
Vice-President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Archbold, and the Head
Librarian of the Dennis Soto Library, Aixa Vega. The
artwork included various Puerto Rican Landscapes, and a very
controversial painting of the Crucifixion of Christ, now owned
by Eric Gunther, California During that Summer I studied with the Puerto Rican painter
Luis G. Cajiga learning various techniques, such as the
Silkscreen. |
In 1996 I moved to Europe and studied the work
of Flemish painters of the Gothic period. If I was to
mention a period that has influenced my artwork, I must say this
is it. I find the use of symbolism in Gothic art
captivating. Upon returning to Puerto Rico I once again
studied with Luis G. Cajiga, learning the Palette knives
technique. Returning to the Universidad Adventista de las
Antillas I designed the sets for the theatrical performances for
their Friday Vespers programs, and directed the creations of the
same. For this I have Pr. Edwin Alicea to thank, who
opened up the door for me to do so. It is then that I
wrote my second play. |
In 1998 I joined the U.S. Army, and
once again my artwork was greatly influenced. Once the
lover of realism and impressionism, I nearly gave up on the use
of strict forms, and adopted a more free style, which to this
day I enjoy immensely.
During Basic Training (or what most know as Boot Camp), I
created two paintings: Soldier (which you can see above
this text), and a Cowboy painting which remained at the Bravo
169 Headquarters. |
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In 1999 I had my first exhibit in Washington,
DC. The artwork was displayed at XandO (now Cosi), in the
corner of R and 21st, Northwest. XandO was then my
stumping ground, and it was from this venue that I painted "R
and 21st" |
In 2000 I created "The Tomb Guard" which has
traveled throughout the military communication channels all over
the world.
In 2001, SPC Jennifer Lily wrote an article for "The
Pentagram", a Military District of Washington newspaper, where
she presented my artwork to the entire U.S. Military community.
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In 2004 I was chosen by AT Cultura
and the Province of Cordoba to become part of the Libro de
Artistas Conteporaneos Iberoamericanos. |
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A book of my writing is scheduled for
publishing in 2006. The book will include Artwork plates,
Poems, Short Stories, and Prose. The tentative title is "As
Faith May Allow", named after a poem I wrote in 2004.
The book is dedicated to my Parents, Sister, my three
Brothers, and to my best friend Joe. |
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