Art and Literature Interconnected

Travel and art and literature can connect in unexpected ways. I travelled to Havana a couple of years ago. While there, I took pictures of some of the historic buildings like this one I painted of the Cathedral of Havana. I also visited the Bodeguita del Medio, the old hangout where Ernest Hemmingway drank many a mojito. Little did I know that I would stumble upon a book of historical fiction, The Crook Factory by Dan Simmons. I have not finished the book but it tells about Hemingway during the early 1940's in Havana when he decided to do some counterespionage work for the U.S. government. Through reading this book, I've discovered the existence of Camp X which was at one time located on a farm between Whitby and Oshawa, Ontario. This was a place set up by MI6 (Great Britain) to train spies and both Canada and the U.S. sent people there for training. Ian Fleming (author of the James Bond series) was heavily involved as well.

If I had not taken such a liking to the history and architecture of this wonderful city, I would never have picked up this book and I would never have done a painting that will forever renew the memories of my walk in that Havana square.