Rolando is a Cuban-American artist whose artistic talents include Pen and Ink, Charcoal Illustration, Acrylics and Digital Art. His work can be seen in comics, ads, and billboards. Also some pirated pieces scattered all over the Internet. Among his influences he lists: Frank Frazetta, Tim Bradstreet, Gaugin, and his favorite, Rembrandt. He was the Asst. Art Director for F-Shop in Miami. He was also the Art Director for the producers of one of the best rums to come out of Cuba, Matusalem Rum. He is a former Senior Graphic Designer for Diamonds International, one of the largest Diamond retailers in the Caribbean with more than 125 retail jewelry stores across the Caribbean, Mexico and Alaska. Most recently he was the Manager for Creative and Photography for 1sale.com, a daily deals site.
"If I had to name the greatest influence on my creative perception it would have to be Frazetta. I grew up the son of a Southern Baptist minister in Texas, so Frazetta's art was somewhat taboo. The paintings had blood, demons, and bare-naked ladies. I don't know what it was that attracted me to his work, but from the first time I saw a book in the local B.Daltons I was hooked. I would sneak the books into the house and hide them to flip through at night. Sometimes, I would copy what I could underneath the sheets with a flashlight, paper and pencils".
Rolando, or Roly as he prefers to be called, has now added "author" to his skill set. He has published the first in a series of novels titled Chronicles of the Damned available through Amazon.com and published through Booksurge. The book art, layout and production was completely done by Roly as well is creating and writing the story of a world where all manner of fantasies exist. This series is another example of the extent of his creativity and diversification of media.