Like many kids, Gerardo Saenz grew up doodling in school. Saenz, however, never stopped. Inspired by '80s music and sunsets, the now-47-year-old husband and father created a collection of work painted entirely on cassette tapes.
However, no one came to his art show.
Weslaco Bicultural Museum allowed Saenz to present his collection, and he was excited to showcase his hard work to his friends, co-workers and family. But the night of the show, bad weather prevented people from attending.
Saenz was disappointed that the opportunity to share the project he'd worked so hard on was snatched from him.
This is when his daughter, Tatianna Saenz, took matters into her own hands. She published his work on Twitter for the world to see.
Tatianna's post quickly garnered over 190,000 likes and 76,000 retweets.
People got so excited about Saenz's work that they wanted to buy it; Tatianna directed potential buyers to her dad's Etsy store.
Gerardo Saenz said his success comes from listening to music on cassette tapes while watching the sun set - something that clearly comes through in the artist's work. He said:
"I realized that growing up in the '80s, it brought many memories of when I would sit and watch the sunset while listening to music on various cassette tapes. Now I envision those memories and experiment with different paints creating swirls on the tapes as if the echoes of music and memories ran through me."
If you are interested in purchasing some of Gerardo's work - or simply feasting your eyes on some more of these beauties - check out the artist's Etsy shop or Facebook page.