One local painter said that the faces of happy children were the inspiration for his current exhibit at the Union City Art Gallery at Town Hall.
Benjamin Roman Jr., who specializes in children’s portraits done in watercolor, now has seven smiling faces on display that he says represent the various physical traits of Hispanic children.
“One of the things I am able to do is showcase not only my talent, but also the children,” said Roman. “This culture – the Spanish culture – is so diverse, and to be able to paint them and showcase them in a way that is sweet and endearing is a compliment to our culture, the diversity of our culture.”
“One of the things I am able to do is showcase not only my talent, but also the children.” – Benjamin Roman Jr.
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“Some people think that a painting can be somewhat like a photograph,” said Roman. “For me, it is much more memorable. When it comes to a painting of a child, it is a lot more endearing.”
Roman said he started honing his talent as a child. He and his sister grew up in such a rough neighborhood in New York City, he said, that their grandmother, who raised them, seldom let them play outside.
“We spent hours in the house drawing,” said Roman. He added that he and his sister were designing the world they wanted to see.
“When we would look out the window, I guess we would see a world for us that was not as beautiful as we wanted it to be, so maybe my therapy, in a sense, was drawing,” he said. “Now, I draw what I like and the things that are beautiful.”
Roman said that in the past, he tried using oils, pastels, and charcoal for his work, but ultimately found that watercolors work best for him.
“I was just surprised to find that I was probably more apt at watercolor than other mediums,” he said. He added that before he had even tried to use watercolors, he was intimidated by just the idea of using them because they have the reputation of being a difficult medium. But with practice, he said, he got better.
“Anything in life has a process to it, and it really takes time to learn things,” he said.
Roman added that he is inspired by the work by Norman Rockwell.
“He told stories,” said Roman. “I guess that is what I am endeavoring to do, to be able to tell a story and get individuals to focus on a face or image and see more than just a face or a smile, see something deeper.”
He added that that is why art is so hard to define.
“I think art should ultimately, in some way, glorify something much higher than yourself, be more a spiritual thing,” he said. “It is so much bigger than pigment on paper. It is bigger than the subject. It is bigger than a specific time in history.”
Roman also recently published a selection of his portraits as a children’s book, and said he plans to continue his painting and hopes to illustrate more books. He currently lives in Jersey City, where he moved more than 15 years ago from New York City.