As an artist I try to express the emotions and experiences I encounter in my daily life. I feel a great need to put into visual form images which enter my thoughts or strike my attention. Often I find my greatest inspirations come from within my dreams. I wake to a strong image and quickly sketch it down before it escapes, coming back to it later to put it into the creative form I choose.
The most interesting aspect of the whole process is feeling compelled to form these images visually to gain release from them. If I don't, they continue to reappear in my thoughts. I am not always sure what they represent, but they make an interesting study.
As a third and fourth-generation Mexican-American, my cultural experiences are a combination of my identity as an American citizen born and raised in the United States, and the traditions of my Mexican culture. Largely in thanks to my parents for exposure to some basic traditions and to my extended family for their many talents, their sharing has allowed me a lifetime of rich experiences. With this in mind, I have come to realize that my culturally combined lifetime experience is unique and valuable. My impressions of what I have seen and felt up to this point greatly influence the way I express myself and how I choose to involve myself in the community.
While I do not always create art that is ethnic in theme, it does sometimes seem to come naturally. I have been told one can feel my cultural expression through the bright and vivid colors I choose for my work. In addition, I feel the strong desire for simplicity in line not only reflects my graphic arts education, but my impressions of various traditional events. My work is both representational and abstract and I use color as a tool for expressing emotions. It’s the experience of day to day feelings along with visual memories we are left with. I want the viewer to enjoy the primary simplicity of rich color and bold line, while also leaving with the sense of shared experiences.
The most interesting aspect of the whole process is feeling compelled to form these images visually to gain release from them. If I don't, they continue to reappear in my thoughts. I am not always sure what they represent, but they make an interesting study.
As a third and fourth-generation Mexican-American, my cultural experiences are a combination of my identity as an American citizen born and raised in the United States, and the traditions of my Mexican culture. Largely in thanks to my parents for exposure to some basic traditions and to my extended family for their many talents, their sharing has allowed me a lifetime of rich experiences. With this in mind, I have come to realize that my culturally combined lifetime experience is unique and valuable. My impressions of what I have seen and felt up to this point greatly influence the way I express myself and how I choose to involve myself in the community.
While I do not always create art that is ethnic in theme, it does sometimes seem to come naturally. I have been told one can feel my cultural expression through the bright and vivid colors I choose for my work. In addition, I feel the strong desire for simplicity in line not only reflects my graphic arts education, but my impressions of various traditional events. My work is both representational and abstract and I use color as a tool for expressing emotions. It’s the experience of day to day feelings along with visual memories we are left with. I want the viewer to enjoy the primary simplicity of rich color and bold line, while also leaving with the sense of shared experiences.
