...but I know what I like.

When I visited Costa Rica in 2003, I came across two small paintings that really appealed to me. The colors were very bright and the subject matter was a bit whimsical. The propietor of the shop I found them in explained to me that they were in the style of "Magical Realism". She went on (in Spanish, of course) on a long-winded, in-depth lecture on the theme which I found hard to follow; my art related Spanish vocabulary not being very strong.

I did get from her that the artists were brothers named Quinchiguano and Alquinque and they were students of a master painter named Gonzalo Endara Crow. I splurged and bought the paintings. They've hung over my desk at home ever since.

I have learned a little about Endara Crow (thank you, internet) and Steef actually found me a book about his works. But I have never been able to find out anything about the brothers.

A few months after my return, I haunted eBay looking for more paintings and managed to find another one, a bit bigger than the two I bought. It's supposedly by one of the brothers, but its signed "Quisaguano". I don't know if it really is one of the brothers or not, but the painting is really cool.

Flash forward a couple of years and Matt & Mara tell me they're going to CR for vacation. Gleeps! When they ask me what I would like as a souvenir, I'm ready with an answer. Not an "Imperial" t-shirt (which was my second choice), but how about another painting? I would pay for it if they could track one down. Matt agreed and I gave him all the particulars.

Lo & behold, they come back with this:

Beautiful, isn't it? I love the blue (it goes so well with the earlier paintings) and the volcano (which makes me think of Arenal). It doesn't seem quite as fantastical as the other ones; it's more subdued. It's definitely in the same style, though. I don't know who the artist is, Matt still has to get me the certificate he received from the art gallery where he bought it.

Once it came back from the frame shop, Steef and I hung it up over my desk. We grouped it with the others, in what Steef calls "Salon Style."

I just love it. Some day I hope to find more and just cover the walls with these paintings.