Ortodox Jews

This oil painting is shared by Daffodil. It was painted in Antwerp in 1968. She shares that her mother in law met Tony in Miami and went to his home in North Miami Beach. It was sometime in the late 60's. She paid $500 for the painting. It is 48x36 ". Tony was living with his wife who was pregnant at the time.

All this information is correct. His wife was probably pregnant with their second child at the time. In 1968 he lived in a small apartment in Antwerp in the Jewish quarter of town: Korte or Lange Herentalse Straat, between central Station and the Town Park. In that period he drew and portrayed a lot of the Jewish people around, the majority in that area being orthodox. He and his family left for the States half of January 1969. I am so certain of that because I have a dated good bye drawing for my daughter who just was born on the 1st of January. He told me later he had been teaching at the university in Miami but the students didn't get credits for it since he did not have the right degrees. Well that was Tony.

Tony the poet

A grey grain in the sands of time
dark clouds and thunder call from the night
looking lonely for some one to love
as I love thee
But lonely I wander

Lonely I wander
an endless hum in the melody of time
a breeze blown from the sea
laughing crying called to me
looking lonely for someone to love
as I loved thee
But lonely we wander


This is a part of a song Tony wrote somewhere in the seventies.

Tenderness

Tenderness is a simple watercolor, a few lines in brown ink and a dab or two of pastel. The work stems from 1983 and is probably a tribute to a then redhead short time girlfriend. The male figure could be an icon for his younger self, seen the white hair.

Blue selfportrait

It was time for another selfportrait. This one is mixed media, oil on paper; it stems from the period in 1981. The Vet has loads of those. The lyrics typical for Tony's longing say: and see me. Like all of us he wanted to be seen and loved for whom he was. Note the realistic details of earrings and the dog in the background. The large pallet was a typical attribute. He often represented himself as a painter.

Looking at the big world

Looking at the big world was shown at the retrospective ' I am a brush' in Castle Sorghvliet Hoboken November 27 in 2003 till January 2004. Here you see it bathing in the Antwerp morning winter sun, waiting for it's place. It is an almost totally abstract work, with powerful reds. If you scroll down 4/5 on the lefthandside at the bottom, you'll see a figure watching. We are small in relation to the universe and contemplating that grandness Tony Mafia had a healthy respect. A peaceful Christmas to you all: love and light.

The big guitar

The vet and Tony were close. Tony laid a lot of drawings and paintings on him, also this double drawing I had never seen. It stems from the first year of our togetherness. What more can I say: thanks. Spain has always been good to us, in total he bought over the years all nice guitars. The first one was called 'Crying Madonna':

The master
He looks and feels
and knows
the craftsman
who under the Madonna’s tears
gives life to the guitar
Angel wings
will make it
sing
to prince
or king

Crying

A beautiful yet sad drawing from the same period as Blue Soup, somewhere in 1982. The dog Song is also in this drawing. If I remember rightly he lost the dog and the girl. Also note the pigeons and the fish. You'll find a lot of birds in Tony's paintings. We once had 23 cages with all singing male canaries in a very small flat... Later on he also had several aquariums. See the water in the background, ready to break over the figures?