In her South Miami studio, Ana Trelles Portuondo is being watched. Her figural portraits—mostly female—gaze at her with an intensity of her own creation, as though hinting at sacred stories masked beneath layers of paint and collage. “I believe the eyes are the expression of your soul,” the artist says. “Capturing that expression is, for me, everything.” 🎨
📝 by Jennifer Pfaff Smith 📷 by Mary Beth Koeth for LUXE Magazine
Read Article HERE
What's better than talking about yourself for over an hour? Pretty much everything. This gal made it comfortable. She even let me ask her questions back. My therapist never lets me do that.
“I have always loved trees and wanted to protect them. I'd watch movies like WALL-E—where the whole earth is filled with trash—and I was the one kid who was like, "Oh my gosh, we have to do something!" If I see that movie today, I still get upset.”
Tasnim Mellouli on trees, wetlands, and her Muslim faith, 📝 by Wendy Becktold 📷 by Mary Beth Koeth, Photo Editor Sam Murphy
Mario, aka. The Empanada Man, makes empanadas for his friends at The Palace, a senior living community in Coral Gables, FL.
Photo by Mary Beth Koeth for AARP
Art Direction by Katrina Zook
Why Moms Are Pioneering the Marijuana Industry | Parents Magazine
There may still be a stigma around marijuana use across the country, but these mothers are blazing the way for women in the cannabis industry.
Melanie Sylvan Sachs and her son Elias, 2, at their home in Windermere, FL.
📷 by Mary Beth Koeth
Art Direction by Sarina Finkelstein
This is the kind of assignment that makes my heart sing.
📷 by Mary Beth Koeth for AARP
“When I hear music, I feel electrified. I can’t just sit there—I’ve got to get up and dance. I got my first job as a cruise ship dance host when I was about 70. Since then, I’ve filled my time with three or four trips a year. It’s not a paid gig, but you do get food and lodging in exchange for a small daily fee. I do ballroom dances with the women traveling solo. My job is to make everyone look good on the dance floor. I get to meet all these lovely people. I don’t think of my age when I do this. It seems to erase time.” —As told to Michael Anft
Former high school teacher Richard Conti, 83, lives in Arlington, Massachusetts.
Residents of high-tax cities are increasingly drawn to South Florida after last year’s tax law capped deductions.
📷 Mary Beth Koeth for The Wall Street Journal 📝: Laura Kusisto, Arian Campo-Flores and Jimmy Vielkind
Link to story HERE.
Jon Platt photographed for Billboard Magazine’s Power 100 Issue at the Faena Hotel in Miami Beach.
📷: Mary Beth Koeth
digi tech 💪🏽: Javier Sanchez, retouching: Babydoll Studios
