Art, Paintings, and Prints
I am a California-based fine artist and printmaker with murals, paintings on canvas, and relief prints displayed publically and in galleries. My desert upbringing has inspired me to build a body of work based on the use of bold palettes of brilliant colors to give my pieces deep contrasts, movement, and depth.
Through the use of these colors and contrasts, I aim to interrogate assumptions of dualities. Juxtaposing the built and natural worlds, overlapping the past with the present, and inverting the role of shadows and light aim to invoke reflection on one’s relationship to nature and to folkloric mythologies.
As a Californian artist of Mexican decent, I draw great inspiration from Mexican folkloric traditions depicting hummingbirds, native plants, and cultural traditions as a means to link modern day imagery to the past. I follow in a long tradition of Mexican printmakers who used this artform for its utility to be easily reproduced, allowing their statements on politics and social issues to be widely disseminated and viewed.
The process entails first transferring a sketch onto a block with graphite paper being used as the medium. I then carve away excess negative space—a process called gouging—to make the sketch into an engraving. The block is essentially transformed into a stamp, that is then inked with a brayer roller. To transfer the image onto paper, the coated block is laid onto the press bed and a sheet of handmade mulberry paper is gently positioned on top and then run through the press. This manual process ensures that each print will have its own distinctive features, making each one unique and original.
