Gustavo the International Painter

When I was six years old, on first grade at Central Methodist School in Havana, Cuba, I remember I did a drawing of the Big Bad Wolf in bed and Little Red Riding Hood in front of it. My art teacher Ana liked it so much she said, "Arencibia, you might be very naughty, but you are going to be a great painter." Well, I don't know if I am that, but I know I have dedicated all my life with love and passion to my drawings and paintings. I worked thirty-three years in Pan American Airways and then three more with Delta Airlines at Miami International Airport, and I had the opportunity and pleasure to travel to over eighty countries in the world and thirty states of the USA. I also worked twelve years part-time with Carnival Cruise Lines. My oils, acrylics, and ink drawings are inspired in all those wonderful places I visited. That is why I titled my bilingual book Gustavo the International Painter: Viajando y Pintando, which means Traveling and Painting. I started the book with my full-color paintings of cities and countries with the intention to be used as posters for Pan Am. There are several travel articles, like Iceland, Poland, and Rio de Janeiro, my favorite place. Then you will see cartoons I did for Panamusements, a nice monthly magazine done by Pan Am employees in Miami on the last thirteen months of Pan Am existence. The book ends with more drawings in black-and-white of cities and countries.