Artist & Founder, Catalina Curtain Company, Inc.

An artist and psychologist, Ernesto “Ernie” Rodriguez brings a vital and unique perspective to his role as founder of the Catalina Curtain Company, Inc., developer of Sereneview® products.  The company specializes in applying nature images to hospital cubicle curtains, light-boxes, wall murals, acoustic ceiling tiles and acoustic wall panels for use in healthcare environments.

Sold in galleries and collected throughout the world, Rodriguez is well known and admired for creating dreamy images through a technique of photography and digital painting that he helped pioneer. Before he returned to art later in life, Rodriguez’ career had moved in a very different direction.

A Creative Childhood

Rodriguez’ childhood seemed to pre-destine him to a world of creativity and beauty. Rodriguez hails from a large Cuban family of intellectuals and artists. He grew up puttering alongside his grandfather, Eraso Monte Valor, who was well known for creating murals in train stations and other artwork for the Cuban railroad in the 1950s.

In 1962, at age eight, Ernie and family traveled to the United States for a vacation. Days later, the Cuban missile crisis erupted and the family ultimately remained in the United States seeking political asylum. In 1968, the Rodriguez family moved to southern California.

Although he possessed artistic sensibilities and was interested in pursuing a creative career, at his family’s prodding to pursue something “more practical,” Rodriguez earned a Master’s degree in psychology from San Diego State University. His credentials landed him a position as a school psychologist for the American School system in South America and later, in the Middle East.

A Turning Point

A long-time and avid scuba diver, Rodriguez met Jim Doran, an underwater photographer who had worked for National Geographic, while working in Saudi Arabia. During their frequent diving expeditions, Doran, recognizing Rodriguez’ love of nature and interest in art, encouraged Rodriguez to pursue photography. Rodriguez did, and his artistic career was re-kindled. His work began to attract the attention of companies and corporations seeking photography for brochures and other marketing tools.

By the early 1990’s, Rodriguez was supporting himself and his family with his artwork and commissions, but began feeling an artistic restlessness. He started experimenting with Polaroids and alternative methods of manipulating images. He eventually met Maryann Doe, one of the founders of Harvest Productions, who had developed a process that laid the foundation for digital fine art printmaking.

A New Era in Nature Landscape Photography

Meeting Doe was a seminal point in Rodriguez’ career, and, inspired by this new and burgeoning direction in digital art, he created his own method of developing photographic nature landscapes.

“My images are an invitation to the viewer to indulge in a memory or escape to a place they can fantasize about,” says Rodriguez. His pictures rarely include people. “Psychologically, it is easier for a viewer to project himself into the image without the intrusion of other people; one is able to put oneself in the scenes.”

His process involves manipulating the photosensitive gels in the Polaroid film, and then, digitally painting the images using various computer-assisted technology, he is able to give the image the right quality of atmosphere and intensity of feeling. Extremely time-consuming, the resulting images have been called “high-tech and high-touch,” and while the process is still considered controversial in some artistic corners, it is grounded in a poetic perspective.

Whatever his subject, Rodriguez attempts to capture the essence of a fleeting moment. Rodriguez’ eye and method have earned him fans around the world.

One gallery owner has called Rodriguez’ work “classic imagery filled with an intensity of atmosphere that makes the viewer an insider: a living, breathing part of the image. His pieces attract; you want to know more, where it started, where it's going. The viewer's curiosity makes this artist and his work take flight.”

He has received numerous special awards and commissions for projects ranging from festival posters, to merit awards, to art competitions, and he is included in several corporate and public collections.

A New Direction

After visiting an ailing friend in the hospital a few years ago, Rodriguez became committed to bringing the healing power of nature and art into the health care setting. Inspired to remedy the lack of access to nature in the traditional, sterile environments of most hospitals, he has dedicated himself to the development of Sereneview® products, and to promoting healthier hospital environments.

The Catalina Curtain Company, Inc. was founded by artist Ernesto Rodriguez, and is headquartered in Avalon on Catalina Island, California. Utilizing Rodriguez’ photographic nature landscapes, the company develops and markets Sereneview® products for use in the health facility industry.  Sereneview® products surround the patient with Rodriguez’s original nature imagery to enhance healing and to promote well-being of patients, visitors, and care providers. To learn more about the Catalina Curtain Company, Inc., Sereneview® products, and for pricing and ordering information, please visit www.sereneview.com or call 888-515-6578.