Ritual Painting

I am an oil painter working and living in Taos, New Mexico, USA. I am a fine artist who explores themes of mortality through portraiture. My figures, painted in oil on canvas and wood, are an extension of my Mexican heritage and Central America’s Day of the Dead festivities; they appear skeletal and pale, yet somehow flushed and vibrant. Through bravado brushwork and assertive color palettes, I animate my subjects and keep them firmly rooted in the realm of the living, asking my viewers to hold life and death in the same hand. Through my work, I seek to remind viewers of the inherent ephemerality of life, and of its beauty as well — that while death is always around the corner, life is something to be celebrated. I was born in Los Angeles, California and graduated from the College of Fine Arts, California State College Fullerton. I began my artistic practice working with water colors and acrylics. My medium changed to oils when I moved to New Mexico, where my mother was born. Since beginning my career as an artist, my work has been acquired by multiple public collections including the International Folk Art Museum, Santa Fe; the National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque; as well as the notable purchase of a painting for the set of the TV hit series “Breaking Bad.” I was recognized by the New Mexico Senate in 2005 and received a blue ribbon for my work in 2007 from the Contemporary Hispanic Market in Santa Fe. I am represented by the galleries KEEPContemporary in Santa Fe, and NuEvolution and Santisima in Albuquerque. Currently, I live and work in Taos, New Mexico.