Faculty of Art

Drawing and Painting

Breanna Youkhana

Road Trip Rest Stop (Version 2)

This painting reflects on memories with family and friends during my trip to Cuba last winter.

“This is the second painting based on a photograph I took at a beach bar in Cayo Guillermo, Cuba. My family took a trip to Cuba last February, and we have a family friend there. We went to visit her as well as spend a day in her hometown. This photograph was captured when our friends’ brother-in-law was driving us there and stopped in at the bar for us to spend some time. His car, the red one, was parked beside another taxi in front of the bar. I thought the scene was very beautiful, with the bright, bold colours of the vintage cars against the tropical greenery, grass beach hut, and blue sky. For this version, I wanted to try using only a palette knife to add colour and details; the outcome was more rigid and rough. In addition to this scene being attractive to me, it holds lots of memories about my time in Cuba with special people.”