- December 19, 2024
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When he was a boy in Cuba, Elio Beltran spent time playing with a friend, Eloy Sardinas. They fired slingshots and walked through a canopied path near the railroad tracks where cattle were unloaded. They ran from bulls, they told each other stories of the woman who had been killed nearby, and they told stories of the rituals practiced by an African group in the woods.
Today, that scene is depicted in Beltran’s painting, “The Forbidden Path,” which he completed in 1989. On the afternoon of Monday, May 12, that painting leaned against an orange wall along with others waiting to be hung and illuminated.
Beltran’s memories of childhood in Cuba have inspired many paintings in his long career, which has now brought him to this weekend, when he will open the Elio Beltran Museum and Artist Gallery of Palm Coast, at 1 Farraday Lane, Suite 2E.
“Thinking of that beautiful, clean atmosphere, the freedom to run around as kids,” Beltran reminisced about Cuba. “We played baseball and went swimming — it was spontaneous.”
Childhood spontaneity informs the subject matter of many of his paintings, though his composition is controlled. He paints winding paths, surreal scenes, images of bays and docks.
Another painting depicts his hometown of Regla, Cuba. In the distance, cranes built by his father tower over the water. A small figure is seen walking along a path, and that is the inspiration for the title: “Loreta Va a Paseo,” which means “Loreta goes for a walk.”
Loreta was a beautiful woman in Regla, and she was unmarried at 30, which made her mysterious to the boy Beltran. When she walked through town with her parasol, “She was someone to admire,” Beltran recalled. And in the foreground of the painting there is a surreal image of Beltran himself as a young man when, one day, he borrowed one of his father’s suits to walk through town himself. He recalled, “I felt like a man that day.”
Beltran has shown his work in exhibits in Miami, New York, Washington, D.C., and many other places. He lives in Ormond Beach today, but he decided on Palm Coast as the home for his new gallery, noting that it has an ascending arts scene.
“I had been going back and forth to St. Augustine for two years, but I stopped here,” Beltran said. “Palm Coast has attracted some good artists. In dealing with the ambiance of people involved in the arts — this is refreshing. The people are passionate about education. They’re creating an attractive environment here. I feel very stimulated to be a part of it.”
Beltran wrote a book about his escapades with his Eloy, his boyhood Cuban friend, who died at age 13. The book is called “Back to Cuba,” and it was the subject of a talk he was scheduled to deliver on Wednesday, at the Flagler County Art League.
To learn more about Beltran and his work, visit eliobeltran.com. The opening of his gallery is 2-6 p.m. Saturday, May 17.
