Art Sparks Interest in Local Café

Picture a Victorian style building that is housing a lot more than just memories of times gone by. As you open the door to this place, warmth and homeliness seem to overcome your senses as you step inside. This place is Caffe Dolce, and not only does it offer delicious pastries, soothing teas and coffees, and sandwiches, but they offer local artists to showcase their work to the public. This is exactly what one local artist did.

            Gabriel Rodriguez, local tattoo artist, made his artistic debut to the community on Friday, February 11, 2011. The event brought out many close friends to the site to see what Rodriguez had created. The event was announced over Facebook, a social networking website, and over 144 guests RSVP'd to attend the art show. The event was a huge hit! So many people showed up to Caffe Dolce and showed their support for Gabe. The artist himself looked truly humble, enjoying a beer and some cookies, just enjoying the company of friends and art enthusiasts.

            The art itself was a sight to behold. So many colors and things that were seen as ordinary are shown in a different perspective. Rodriguez's art portrayed several ideas taken from Mexican culture and his love for the state of Texas. One of his pieces titled "En Brujado" shows a heart shaped bottle with a tag saying "Love Potion #9." The love potion is being poured into a tea cup, where green gas is emanating and surrounding the frame, while two purple roses cradle the love potion. Another piece of work Rodriguez created was titled "Dr. Texas" in which the state of Texas is a "Dr. Pepper" logo. There is a banner overlapping the state which says "True Love" and has yellow roses surrounding the state. When asked about "Dr. Texas" the artist replied, "Dr. Pepper and Texas go together like nobody's business. Dr. Pepper was invented in Waco, so just showing some Texas pride."  While acrylic paintings are just a few of Rodriguez's talents, he is an amazing and gifted tattoo artist.

            Rodriguez works for a local tattoo shop called "Lazy Boy Tattoos", located at 5309 McPherson Rd. His work day includes many different clients asking for many different things and hoping for a job well done. When one has an idea of what they wish to get tattooed, Rodriguez swoops in and takes their idea and makes it a reality. His process includes him speaking with the client about what they want done. He then draws a sketch and both he and the client review it together. When both come to an agreement, the sketch is made into an outline and placed on the client; then the tattooing process begins.

            Whether it is acrylic paintings, tattoos, sketches, or otherwise, it is clear that Gabriel Rodriguez has got some amazing talent and has a lot to offer the community in terms of aesthetics. Rodriguez as a person is humble, kind, intelligent, and outspoken. All of these attributes of his personality make him approachable and easy to talk to. When asked about his inspiration for his works that evening, Rodriguez replied "No real reason. I just love to paint." Ideas are fluid in this man's mind and what he creates, with this fluidity, are simply works of art. There is no telling what the future holds for this artist, but we can sure hope that he brings us more of his paintings to be exposed to the community and show the world something beautiful.