Jose Alvarez Ocaña. Painter

Jose Alvarez, a self-taught artist, was born on July 30, 1962, in Havana, Cuba. His vocation for the fine arts at an early age inspired him to paint and follow the steps of the artist Manuel Tur Lamber, who he considered his mentor, and who introduce him to George Seurat and Paul Klee who developed Pointillism, a technique of painting in which small distinct dots of colors are applied in patterns to form image.
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At the age of eleven, he exhibited his first artwork in a contest and won third prize. He was the pride of his old master Lambert, who continued teaching him at his humble studio  in San Miguel, Havana, Cuba. There he had the opportunity of meeting with the great artist Manuel Mendive, who also encouraged him to continue developing the Pointillism technique.

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Jose Alvarez immigrated during the Cuban Exodus of 1994 and spent ten months at the US Guantanamo Navy Base where he taught painting to his fellowmen also stranded there. Although Ocaña was able to acquire some acrylic paint, the paint brushes had to be hand made from his own hair. He came to the United States in July 1995 and first exhibited his work at the Kris Lopez Fine Arts Gallery in Homestead. He has also exhibited his art in galleries in Miami, and Key West. He has been invited by Cuban-American congress representatives Ileana Ross, Lincoln Diaz Balart, and Bob Mendez to exhibit his artwork in the USA congress.