Mi Tia Cuca : A portrait

This is an art piece I did back in high school. The assignment was to do a portrait in mostly two tones. I chose to do a study of my step-grandmother, but took a picture of her instead of sitting her down for a few hours. When I look at this picture, many things come to mind in terms of my family’s history.

Abuelita
First the subject herself, whom I call my Tia Cuca. My grandfather and her got together when my mom was still a young girl. What she faced was a household of several girls who had learned to take care of themselves after my grandmother had gotten sick and passed away when my mom was just nine years old. She took care of each of my grandfather’s children as if they were her own. Eventually she had a daughter and a son, significantly younger than the rest of their half-siblings. Today, she takes care of my grandfather after having been separated for a few years. During this time she lived in San Luis (my mother’s hometown) working at a record store. Now they both live in California where she continues to care for her grandchildren. To me she’s always been very nurturing and relaxed, despite the anxious person my mother remembers her for. One thing I have always admired about her is the respect she still harbors for my biological grandmother who is seen practically as the patron saint of our family. One of the fondest memories I have between her and I dates again to my high school years in which she looked at me closely then suddenly turned to my grandfather and asked him, “Ey, a quien se parece?” “Who does she look like?”. After a few moments of confusion she said, “Te pareces a tu abuela”, “You look like your grandmother”. Although I never had a chance to meet her, it was nice to know that I had a likeness to this person whom everyone missed and that my Tia Cuca still remembered her in such a way,
This piece also makes me think of the artistic background my family has. Firstly, this was probably my first finished portrait I had ever done. Looking back on it I’m both surprised and critical of the piece, but ultimately quite pleased with it (and may re-do it sometime soon). My mom was always the one who was excellent at translating still lifes to paper, specifically portraits. You can find doodles of faces and shapes in many of her notes or even old bills. My grandfather, Francisco, was an excellent carpenter. According to my mom, some of his best pieces, such as giant wooden doors, dining table sets, and such, can be found around the town of San Luis where he was often commissioned to do customized pieces. His work was quite fine and detailed. My father, although not part of the Preciado family, has also always dabbled in drawing. His style is more graphic instead of realistic and has actually designed some of his own tattoos.
Ultimately this is a piece that is very dear to me, and definitely one of my mother’s favorites. I hope to capture as much of my enormous family as I can. Having captured my Tia Cuca’s beautiful features was an inspiration. The next, much overdue step, is to show her this final piece which she has yet to see.

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