Ernesto Rodriguez
Photographer & Founder
An award-winning photographer 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 beautiful nature images to hospital cubicle curtains, light-boxes, wall murals, acoustic ceiling tiles and acoustic wall panels for use in healthcare environments.
“My images are an invitation to the viewer to indulge in a memory or escape to a place they can fantasize about. One is able to put oneself in the scene.”
- Photographer Ernie Rodriguez
Rodriguez, whose photographs are in the collections of the Smithsonian and New York Museum of Modern Art, is recognized for breathtaking classic nature landscapes, created from his beautiful Polaroid photographs with a digital fine art print making technique he helped to pioneer. He has received awards and commissions for projects ranging from art competitions to festival posters, and his work is found in corporate and public collections and is available through New Era Portfolio.
Photos Bring the Healing Power of Nature to Hospitals
After visiting an ailing friend in the hospital, Ernie Rodriguez became committed to bringing the healing power of Nature and art into the health care setting, through his photography. His powerful images on Sereneview products now bring images of Nature to the patient’s bedside.
Inspired to remedy the lack of access to Nature in the traditional, sterile environments of most hospitals, in 2002, Rodriguez founded the Catalina Curtain Company, Inc., to develop Sereneview® products, and to promote healthier hospital environments.
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.
Discovering Fine Art Photo Directions
The poetic Sereneview images are made possible by a fine art printing process that Ernie Rodriguez developed to create the right quality of atmosphere and intensity of feeling. The painstaking process involves manipulating photosensitive gels in the Polaroid film, and then digitally painting the images using computer-assisted technology.
An accomplished commercial photographer, Rodriguez became interested in Polaroids and alternative methods of manipulating images in the 1990’s. He was inspired by Maryann Doe, founder of fine art printer Harvest Productions, who developed a process that laid the foundation for digital fine art print making.
Creative Adventures
Although he possessed artistic sensibilities and was interested in pursuing a creative career, at his family’s prodding to pursue something “more practical,” Rodriguez first earned a Master’s degree in psychology from San Diego State University. His credentials landed him a position as a school psychologist in South America and later, in the Middle East.
Encouraged by National Geographic photographer, Jim Doran, a fellow scuba diver who shared Rodriguez’ love of nature and interest in art, when he was on a teaching assignment in Saudi Arabia, Rodriguez decided to pursue photography. His work attracted the attention of companies and corporations seeking photography for brochures and marketing.
Family of Artists
Ernie Rodriguez hails from a large Cuban family of intellectuals and artists. He grew up puttering alongside his grandfather, Eraso Monte Valor, well known for creating murals and other artwork for the Cuban railroad in the 1950’s.
His family was on a U.S. vacation in 1962, when he was eight, and the family sought political asylum after the Cuban missile crisis erupted. In 1968, the Rodriguez family moved to Southern California.
Whatever his subject, Rodriguez attempts to capture the essence of a fleeting moment. Rodriguez’ eye and method have earned him fans around the world.
To learn more about the Catalina Curtain Company, Inc., Sereneview® products, and for pricing and ordering information, please email us or call 888-515-6578.
