Portrait of Life

By alfonso tirado

Portrait of Life, is the novel with which Alfonso Tirado reincorporates his artistic talent to the world of narrative. For those who have enjoyed his works before, it will come as no surprise to see the spirit of a man who has traveled  the world, coming from this author.

His narrative, agile and ingenious, with a very precise language, allows you to go through its pages with the certainty of being on the right path and enjoy reading each chapter.

Portrait of Life, is a novel that blends the eternal insurmountable love, treated as the phenomenon in itself with what occurs between different members of an elite, which amalgamates that of the artistic and social worlds of New York City.

In the story they live the sublime moments of unexpected love between a painter and his model. The memories, the sufferings and the successes of a Russian ballet dancer in New York and the episodes of violence and corruption of the Mafia, in a relationship that brings the protagonists to unpredictable levels.  

The author takes us through the story, with occasionally erudite descriptions, which are intertwined in a temporality, which is sometimes chaotic, to finally culminate in the drama that is captured in a portrait of the ballerina, which keeps evidence, not only of her artistic personality, but also of the love story between two beings of exquisite sensitivity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BadPress
• Release date: Jun 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9781547528288

Book preview

Portrait of Life

alfonso tirado

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Translated by Barbara Henze 

Portrait of Life

Written By alfonso tirado

Copyright © 2018 alfonso tirado

All rights reserved

Distributed by Babelcube, Inc.

www.babelcube.com

Translated by Barbara Henze

Cover Design © 2018 Danny Romero

Babelcube Books and Babelcube are trademarks of Babelcube Inc.

Translation from Spanish:  Barbara Henze

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Cover:  Danny Romero

For my father

Who gave me imagination

For my mother

Who gave me life

For New York

That opened its door for me,

to diversify my culture 

The painter Francchini

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Under the deep blue of the New York City sky the street lights switched on. It’s summer and the sunset go on until long after nine o’clock in the evening. The gallery Lehmann Maupin in the Lower East Side opens its doors for the inauguration of the latest works of Luigi Francchini, a painter who was accepted by the critics, without giving him much hope that he would one day get to the realm of the New York City Art elite. Nevertheless, the square headed opinion of the art critics did not agree very much with that of many art lovers who liked his style, with its intense features that surround the forms to give them the chance to lose reality and make them subtler. Either way, artists usually ignore the opinions based on commercialization.

The human fauna, so characteristic of art inaugurations, moves slowly along the exhibits of the gallery, showing landscapes, some nudes and still life’s. They go from one painting to another and between sips of wine and chewing snacks, discuss their impressions.

There are also the usual assistants that come for the free wine but pretend to have a deep knowledge and contribute their absurd opinions that nobody wants to hear. Art students are not lacking either, thinking that they have the right to dress in bizarre clothes so that they can be identified as artists. Beautiful women are present as well, shining like mannequins and taking advantage of the chance to compete with the art works hanging on the walls. What is missing is to know, if someone is interested in buying one of the works.

Luigi Francchini has lively conversations with friends and receives congratulations from people he knows and people he doesn’t know, but who want to have the opportunity to shake the hand of an artist.

The room is pretty busy, much to Luigi’s satisfaction, since it was his first one man show, before, when it was joint exhibitions, it was never satisfying. The Gallery managers convinced him that it was time to launch an individual exhibition so that his career could move on in a more dynamic way. It was decided and during the following month he was working to get a variety of his latest works together.

-Hi, Mr. Francchini – said a very attractive woman with Spanish traits.

-May I congratulate you?

-Thank you... Do you like my work?

-I love your work – she said with an accent that had a sweet taste of tropical fruits, and a brilliant smile with white teeth that showed between fleshy and sensual lips. Big black eyes emphasized by inciting eyebrows. All surrounded by an abundance of curly hair that was like an Afro inspiration.

-Thanks, Miss... - He shook her hand waiting to hear her name. She said – Rosaura - and also gave him her hand, soft skin, cinnamon colored and perfectly manicured.

Luigi said –excuse me- to three people that surrounded him and dedicated himself to show Rosaura the rest of the exhibition. –I love it, it has a lot of power!... I am not an expert, but it seems to me that you have some precious pieces. Your landscapes are very pretty and always show a romantic side. Am I wrong? - She said pointing with her hand to the paintings.

-If you like them you cannot be wrong, of course. If the painting can attract you and you find your own personal meaning, the artist has achieved his purpose.

-Although it differs from his own opinion?

-It doesn’t matter, it means that the scene has different contents and not everybody sees the same.

-Ajaa! So what matters is my own opinion, she said with a broad smile.

-Of course!... One has to take from it what one likes.

-I wish it were always like this! – She turned around and left a smile in the air, accompanied by a flirting gesture.

-What did she want to say? - Luigi ask himself and watched her going away slowly, her hips slightly swinging like a swell of gipsy singing. She was of medium height, rather petite, but with a beautiful body, reminding him of the Caribbean.

Helen Kramer, the director of the gallery came and burst into his day dreaming.

-Luigi!... Good news, there is someone who wants to meet you.

-Great - he answered with a hint of sarcasm for having been meeting people for two hours by now.

They navigated their way through the crowd until they got to a man with a broad smile, smoking a cigar, and who let his gaze wander through the gallery with a look of self-sufficiency.

-This is Luigi Francchini- said Helen when they were close enough to shake hands.

-Boris...- he simple answered. –I like your work.

Luigi thanked him with a smile and opened the conversation saying how grateful he was for the magnificent work the curator had done to put it all together. Which was not of any interest to Boris whatsoever.

-What I want to know is, if you take commissions- asked Boris staring at him. He was a good looking man in good physical shape. His appearance was impeccable, of good taste and great quality. The watch that showed, when he pointed to one of the paintings, was a gold Rolex, which surely had cost a fortune and a half. Helen came back with two glasses of wine that they gladly accepted.

-Yes, of course- Luigi nodded formally. –What do you have in mind?

-I see that you do landscapes, although a little surrealistic, when it comes to shapes. But even though I like them. How good are you with portraits?

-Boris...I assure you that he is very good doing portraits– Helen joined in, her ability to do business being much better than Luigi’s, who was capable of saying in all his modesty that he was just good.

Boris did not even give her a sideways glance. He ignored her comment and repeated his question to Luigi.

-I am not showing portraits here because it is something more personal, but it is one of my best forms of expression- he said very self-confident and did not avoid a quick glance at Helen to get her approval.

-OK...good– said Boris, accepting the message.

-If you like you can come to my studio and I’ll show you some of my portraits.

-I don’t think that will be necessary, I can appreciate your abilities- he expressed with an air of a satisfied connoisseur.

-I would like you to do a portrait of me... How are we going to do that?

-It will be necessary that you give me some of your time to pose in my studio and...

Boris interrupted him dryly, telling him that he did not have the time to be sitting somewhere without doing anything, he was often travelling, he did not have patience, his occupations were... bla, bla, bla. In a pause, Luigi interrupted and explained how he worked.

They agreed that Boris would send him some photos that clearly showed his face from various angles, preferably taken by a professional photographer and from there he could achieve a good quality painting. At the end, only a couple of hours would be necessary to get the final touch and accentuate his personality. Boris accepted the proposal, but only under one extreme condition, that if he would not be completely satisfied with the final result, he would not pay him a dime.

-These are my conditions! – Boris said with a decisive attitude. -Is that convenient for you?

The truth was that Luigi did not want to let this opportunity go by, to do a painting that could pay him very well, judging by the economic appearance of Boris. He thought about it two seconds and looked at Helen who gave a gesture of approbation.

-Alright then...I’ll accept- Luigi said.

They shook hands and Luigi wrote down the direction, to where he wanted the photographs to be send, on the reverse of his business card. Boris gave him his business card in return and said good bye, leaving behind the wake of his personality and the pestilent smoke of his cigar.

When Boris had passed through the door onto the street, Helen jumped up in the air and embraced Luigi. They were both happy to have gotten a good deal.

Minutes later, Luigi was talking to a group of friends, when he spotted the Caribbean looking girl again who looked at him casually over her shoulder.

-How good to see that you are still here- Luigi said approaching her.

-I was about to go, but I wanted to have a last look at your paintings- she said as a pretext. In reality she had been waiting for the opportunity to talk to Luigi again.

Luigi was pleased because he had also looked for a chance to talk to her again, captivated by her beauty and the joy with which she showed it.

–I’m Rosaura Santiago- she shook hands with him. -In a way we are in the same business. You are an artist and I’m selling art.

-Really? - Luigi said surprised, more because what he wanted to know was, if she had approached him because of business or because of what he hoped for, to get to know each other and find friendship.

-Yes, I’m in contact with some galleries and they might be interested in your work.

-Wonderful! - Luigi exclaimed –you already know that we artists are not the best salespersons, and...you are right, maybe we can work together.

-Whenever you like I pass by your Studio and we’ll talk- Rosaura said, looking at him with a sensual smile.

At nine o’clock at night all had finished. Luigi left the gallery, took a deep breath of fresh air and felt free of all the bustle from before. On his face was a satisfied smile from ear to ear, even shoulder to shoulder. He considered the results as having been very productive and congratulated himself on his decision to have this solo exhibition. 5 paintings sold and one or two more potential sales. The commission on the portrait for Boris the Russian and...having met Rosaura who had presented herself like a tropical sunrise. She wanted to be his sales representative, and immediately came to his mind that he would like to do a portrait of her, while the pleasing images of her exiting figure kept repeating in his mind.

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A week later, Rosaura was in Luigi’s Studio. She was wearing a white, sleeveless summer blouse showing her arms and a tailored miniskirt, which gave a good glimpse of her thighs when she sat down on the sofa and crossed her slender and sensual legs. The lower end was also exciting with the red of a nice pair of shoes with pointed, very high heels. Her hands were a little too big for her size, but her shiny carmine colored nails made her fingers look long and elegant.

While she was happily talking, giving him the details of her work proposal, Luigi had the opportunity to appreciate every inch of Rosaura’s body. And to Luigi it seemed charming that, even speaking in English, you could hear an accent, swallowing some letters and almost not pronouncing the -eses-.

-And, tell me- Luigi asked at an appropriate moment, trying to change the subject. – I am certain that you are Hispanic, but...Cuban?... from Puerto Rico?

-No...no...you’ve missed, I’m Dominican, thank Go’..

-Well, it was close.

-Yes, we are all in the Caribbean, but we are different, you know- she said, exaggerating her characteristic Dominican accent.

-Rosaura, there is something else that I’m very interested in.

-Tell me.

-Did you ever do any modeling?....Fashion, photography?

-No, never. Why?

-Would you like to model for me? - Luigi waited anxiously for the answer to be yes.

-What are you saying? You are crazy Mister! - And without meaning to, all her hot blood burst forth.

-Rosaura, you know that you are very attractive, your shape is like a precious stone that wants to come out and shine. You are the golden dream of every photographer or painter. I am surprised that you didn’t model before.

-They have already asked me that before. When I was younger, but I didn’t want to do it.

-Would you do it now?

-No way! – She said laughing. – I´m too old already for that vainas, as they say en Colombia.

–C’mon Rosaura you are not old and...he dared to throw a direct compliment, you are very beautiful. Since the night I have met you in the gallery you have impressed me.

Rosaura lowered her head and just smiled flirtatiously at him. She was thinking for some seconds, she was flattered in her female vanity, but she could not deny that she liked the thought of being part of a piece of artwork and who better than Luigi, likable as he was, and with whom she felt comfortable.

-What kind of painting could we do? –She ask interested.

-For now we would do a portrait for me and one for you, would you like that?

-Ah, I thought that you were thinking of something to put in galleries.

-That would come later- Luigi answered, already believing that she would accept to pose for him. –Although for that I believe that the best would be to offer nudes.

-WHAT!...Man, you are crazy.

-That would best express you and surely would sell very well.

-And they would recognize me when I walk down the streets. Look the girl with the nice bum! Hahaha... Noooooooo. No Luigi.

-Nobody will recognize you, I could change your face and...

Rosaura covered ground saying between shrieks of laughter.

-And the bum also? Hahahaha

-Nooooo... that’s fine as it is, hahaha!

The ice, that wasn’t really all that icy from the start, now melted completely and gave way to a friendly talk that had rather some flirting going on from both sides.

-Well then, let’s give it a try...but you will have to show me how to pose, eh?

-I don’t think you will have any problem.

-And what about business?

-We will do it Rosaura, heaven knows I need a representative and I hope we will have good results. I know it’s not easy but you have such a compelling power that they would buy the Statue of Liberty from you, if you’d offer it.

She came closer and embraced him cheerfully and left a kiss on his cheek.

Rosaura started to pose for Luigi, who felt happy with what he was achieving in her portrait. He let her pose in a traditional Dominican blouse with wide sleeves and enough neckline to show a little of her beautiful firm breasts. Her face showed her natural smile and a look of craftiness that was driving Luigi crazy, not because of the sensuality but because it changed every minute with astonishing facility. It could be very sensual one minute and then change and show intelligence, to then turn into a look like she was dreaming of sun splashed beaches with plumes of coconut trees swaying in a tropical breeze. Luigi didn’t know which one he preferred and he didn’t want her to stop that carousel of uncontainable joy. Also he didn’t want to ask her to just maintain one expression and discourage her from posing again, because she might feel that she wasn’t doing it properly.

-I’ll find a way to keep her quiet- he thought.

On the business side she was doing very well. She already had some paintings on display in two of Manhattans galleries and in a gallery in Boston. They were both optimistic that soon they would have good sales. During the painting sessions they got to know each other more and more and got closer. Several times they went out to dinner afterwards and they said good bye as good friends until the moment came, although they wanted to take it as an accident, that they kissed on the mouth.

When the first portrait was finished, Rosaura was fascinated. She said that all that beauty was not hers and assured that it was all the work of his magical power as an artist and beautician.

-Now you can imagine what a nude portrait of you would look like...- Luigi stared at her, waiting for the answer. Rosaura lowered her head and couldn’t hide a slight blush that illuminated her face but she did not say one word. Luigi wanted to take that as a yes, because that was what he was looking for, but he neither wanted to insist, Rosaura was thinking about it and maybe it would need