Honoring the Artist: Cuca Romley

By Marion Wolberg Weiss

"What goes around comes around" is a familiar expression. Cover artist Cuca Romley knows it well. For several years, Romley's gallery, The Winter Tree, has been housed in a historic old building on Sag Harbor's Main Street. Now the landlord plans on renovating. Talking abut the upcoming event reminded Romley of the past, going back to her childhood days in Madrid where she grew up.

Q: I know your father decided to renovate your house and then you, your mother and two siblings had to move. That was some change. Tell me how it was growing up in your special house in Madrid.

A: My house was very artistic. There were always paper and pencils around, things to draw with, so I did. There was a piano because my father played. There were lots of books, too, and three or four paintings that my father did.

Q: You were exposed to a lot of culture, which impacted on you greatly throughout the years. How did exposure to two older siblings influence you?

A: No one paid attention to me as an artist. My older sister was supposed to be an artist. She even had paid lessons. My brother also created art. I remember his making a miniature of pieces of money with colored inks. He was two years older than me, so he was nine-years-old or a little older. I am very thankful to him; I grew up with him, he and I playing with his electric trains. I remember my first drawing; it was a doll. My brother and sister cut it up and ate it.

Q: Were you upset?

A: Of course. I was crying.

Q: Do you remember any other early drawing experiences?

A: Once I was sick in bed, and my mother sent the maid to buy some plaster so I could make some tiles. But in five minutes all the plaster was dry. But my mother encouraged me. She'd say, "Never go for the Yes. Go for the NO."

Q: How about your father? Did he help you as well?

A: Yes. He had a magazine that was pro-Franco in those days, but it was the best quality you could have. He introduced me to some magazine people, and I ended up drawing for five magazines. And I won two competitive awards.

Q: When you were 11, however, you and the family left your father and his house and went to live with your uncle. How was that?

A: There were no paper nor pencils in the house, so it was hard to draw. It was a totally different planet. Thank goodness I was painting in school. After being with my uncle, my sister, brother and I moved to an apartment of our own. My mother left for Italy.

Q: Did you see your mother at all?

A: I went to see my mother for a month and never went back to Madrid. I went to the art school in Palermo and studied costume and set design. I was there for two years.

Q: Knowing you, your were off someplace else after that.

A: Yes, to Paris with my mother, but after a bit, I said, "Bye, bye Momma." I did stay in Paris, however; I went to the L'Ecole de Beaux Artes and worked for magazines doing illustrations. Although I had to support myself, it was the best time I could have had.

Q: You left Paris in 1968 in the middle of the riots.

A: Yes, I decided to come to New York. When America went to the moon, I said, "It's time to live in the future." Two days after I arrived in New York, I went to a party where I found a boyfriend and got a job doing illustrations for Vogue.

Q: You have led an energetic and colorful life, learning so much wherever you have gone.

A: Yes, I suppose so.

Romley's work can be seen at The Winter Tree in Sag Harbor, along with an exhibit from Gina Gallery in New York: "International Naïve Art," through September 15. Call 631-725-0097. The cover is called "Soldier's Ride."

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