With just sharing about myself with you, I was born in Havana, Cuba on February 9th, 1956. My family relocated to the United States when I was three years old. While was growing up here in the United Stated, going to school was always hard for me, as I was the only Hispanic student in class. Over time this formed a pattern of disability that affected me until I was 40 years old. I didn’t know how to read.

As a teenager, I learned to work in my father’s own profession, which was to be a goldsmith, working with jewelry. So, as I got older I also became a custom jewelry designer and was able to make a good living by it. While I won’t list all of my works, in this summary, as it’s just meant to provide reader’s an introduction of me. I’ve worked in locations such as, here in Houston, Texas, and throughout New York City making jewelry for the rich and famous. The Rich’s of others gave me desires of my own. I was able to buy all the vanities of this life to be. But, there was still something very important MISSING within my own mind, which was, EDUCATION. In this deprived state of being (growing up with little education) my soul, ventured into darkness and spiraled downward until ultimately found myself here on death row.

It is here on Texas’ death row that the next phase of my own life has begun, at 41 years old. I began to develop my own mind (to educate myself) through reading books. Which all my life I either ad voided or had no time available for learning always doing other things. While living here in prison, on death row, one seems to have ample time, while waiting through the various appeal process, to read or pass time in other ways. So, I’ve been reading to both develop my mind and nourish my soul.

Believing in God, one of the things I’ve asked for, the first was to be able to understand the Creator of life. Is this not a logical question? What do you think?

During the past seven years I have grown through this, since 1997 through present date, I have searched for the meaning of THE MYSTERIES and have found what I think are the TREASURES within the soul, mine own at least. These gifts, many have provided me with an abundance of JOY now having the ability to know and understand TRUE LOVE with PEACE and WISDOM at my side.

For example, as an expression of this spoken GRACE, as I mentioned, out there I war working as a jeweler, while I have been incarcerated, during the past seven years I have become a skilled painter. Through teaching myself as I’m going and by studying work’s by other BEKNOWED artist over the years. If you were to look for yourself. My paintings tend to reflect the life within as the MAGIC is clearly seen in my paintings. The magic is to know that here (on death row) I am only provided the allowance by prison staff to use only colored pencils and water colors, cheap basic types.

With using the colored pencils, I break them up, through this process of crushing solids and mixing them into liquids form, I am able to convert such into paint colors to paint my pictures with. Using hair from my own body for brushes has been how I apply this art. Very few have been able to find this method here, as clearly there is more to it than meet’s the human eye, grin …

With sharing about myself with people out there, u currently have a son, who is now going on 8 years old. For myself, my son is actually a MIRACLE child, I say this of him because my wife and I tried having children together, before his surprised birth, than our only son came … just before I was arrested and sent here to death row. This experience has been very hard for me, to know that I have a son out there, outside of this prison who I have never been able to hold, hug or simply tough all these years. I am only able to occasionally visit with him through the visiting room’s glass plate between us.

Because I grew up without proper education, though some might say that I made a successful living, employment wise. I have a wish, for my son Christian Ray Dennes, to be able to have and experience a better education, than I have has, as his dad. Which has I’ve said wasn’t very much.

In my own way, with trying to do as much as I possible can do for him (my son) while there is time for me to such, in between the death penalty’s appeal process, I decided to try to provide books for him through any funds I am able to raise myself, through and from my paintings.

While I am not saying this as a means of BOASTING, I can reproduce most any works out there on the market from any of the MASTER’S of the past. Or, any picture, photo you desire? In exchange for any contributions, funds, I would like to use towards my son’s education.

With this simple introduction about myself, I am always interested in meeting others. I could paint pictures for you. Or share together in correspondence and talk about life with you. As my mind and heart if offered free. As an individual, I am always interested to exchange thoughts or ideas about politics’ history, and theology or which I have spent these years studying in several languages.

If you reading this, and you’d like to learn more about me, my son and my wishes for his own education. Or have interest in a desired painting done? Please feel welcome to contact me at any time at my listed address information. And simply, “thank you” for taking time to learn a little about me, through reading this.

Reinaldo A. Dennes

Note:

Dear Readers,

I am currently Mr. Dennes neighbor here on death row. There are some who say that the spoken word of prisoners mean little to others. In this case, I say, decide for yourself. I have lived next to this man for a year and nine month, I have overheard prison staff many times over compliment all his paintings from buildings, land and sea works to people. Look at his works and decide for yourself (Michael Blair, # 999122).