This Coastal Connection is sponsored by Baths by Spicer Bros.
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. - Gilberto Rodríguez, a native of Veracruz, Mexico, who has lived in the United States for about 30 years, continues pursuing his lifelong passion for painting.
Rodríguez began painting at 6 years old and has continued ever since, including after immigrating to the United States.
"When I came to this country, I started working my job as a landscaper, and then, as I said, I never quit doing my drawings, my paintings," Rodríguez noted.
In 2015, a friend connected him with Crystal Restaurant in Rehoboth Beach when the owners were looking for an artist to paint a mural.
"One of my friends was working here, and he said the people from the restaurant... are looking for somebody to do a mural in the restaurant. I said, 'Okay, why not?' So, I love that. Normally, I'm always saying I'm not doing this just for money, I have a lot of fun doing it," Rodríguez said.
The owners, who are from Greece, provided photos from their home country for inspiration. Rodríguez spent a few days developing the concept before painting the mural over about a week, working three to five hours at night after his landscaping job.
"I was painting after work. I was spending my nights doing this mural, the nights of three, four, or five hours," he remembered.
As the design developed, he worked closely with the owners to shape the final vision.
"Sometimes when you start a mural, you get a picture, but when you're in front of the wall, it's something so different. I started mixing the color. I talked with the owner. 'So, what do you want to see in the mural?' They said they got water. They got the ocean, they got many old buildings," Rodríguez expressed.
Before completing the mural, he added a personal touch for the family.
"By the end of the mural, I decided to put the owner's wife's name right on that boat right there. They didn't know I was going to do that," Rodríguez said. "I was like, 'Okay, I want to do something else.' When they came the next day, and I was done with the mural, they were so amazed.”
Seeing the finished piece still feels surreal to him.
"Every time when I come here, and I see this mural, I'm not thinking it's mine. I mean, somebody else did it. So it's very hard for this funny guy coming to this country and do this type of job, for a restaurant, you know, like this one in Rehoboth Beach. So, yeah, I feel so, so good," Rodríguez noted.
For Tzanos Tsolakis of Crystal Restaurant, the mural means a lot.
"It reminds me of when I was younger, living in Greece," Tsolakis said. "It brings back memories, and I just want to share that with all the customers that come in."
In addition to the Rehoboth Beach mural, Rodríguez has completed a mural in Seaford and is part of one in Milford, too.
"It's not about the money. It's about your feelings, and my feelings are that, just before I go from this earth, I want to leave something for the next generation of other Latinos in this country," he expressed.
He plans to continue painting and sharing his work throughout the area.