Every Halloween I think of Porfirio Salinas, the esteemed painter who lived at the corner of Elmendorf and Buena Vista Streets. It is the stone hous now owned by former Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales. I frequently rode my bike past this house because we lived a block and1-half away on Monterrey Street.
The local Sigmore Gas Station which had the only free air pump, the Staffold's Feed Store where the WW1 veteran raised hundreds of Homing pigeons and Paul Schedall's garage where BSA Sacred Heart's Troop 61 met for meetings all necessitated passing his studio.
Only once did I ever get a chance to enter his studio. He stopped me and asked for help moving boxes from his car to the garage storage area and into the second floor apartment studio, I was fascinated by the large number of paintings were on multiple easels. He did not offer me any tip for helping.
And why do I remember Salinas on Halloween? He would turn on all his sprinklers in his front yard to prevent any "trick-or-treaters" from approaching his front porch.
A great painter who became a neighborhood icon once LBJ placed his work in the White House but a real grouch.
Fascinating story for a fascinating artist! I own a Robert Wood painting, but, alas, no bluebonnets!
Ricardo,
Every Halloween I think of Porfirio Salinas, the esteemed painter who lived at the corner of Elmendorf and Buena Vista Streets. It is the stone hous now owned by former Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales. I frequently rode my bike past this house because we lived a block and1-half away on Monterrey Street.
The local Sigmore Gas Station which had the only free air pump, the Staffold's Feed Store where the WW1 veteran raised hundreds of Homing pigeons and Paul Schedall's garage where BSA Sacred Heart's Troop 61 met for meetings all necessitated passing his studio.
Only once did I ever get a chance to enter his studio. He stopped me and asked for help moving boxes from his car to the garage storage area and into the second floor apartment studio, I was fascinated by the large number of paintings were on multiple easels. He did not offer me any tip for helping.
And why do I remember Salinas on Halloween? He would turn on all his sprinklers in his front yard to prevent any "trick-or-treaters" from approaching his front porch.
A great painter who became a neighborhood icon once LBJ placed his work in the White House but a real grouch.
jgcisneros