After years of being fascinated with Cuban culture,  I visited this amazing Caribbean island in the summer 2015. I was inspired to paint colourful, vibrant, tropical canvases, with an element of great admiration for the thousands of Cubans who went into exile, or for the amazingly resourceful Cubans who stayed in their homeland and still struggle for freedom, decent living. The heartwarming qualities of this people, their  Afro-Caribbean music, dancing and traditions, their fabulous lush country infiltrated my heart and provoked this collection of 12 canvases.The  Scarlet Flame Bean flower has become emblematic of my recent paintings. This is the only portrait I made: Azucena, an imaginary Cuban woman looking at the world.