BIOGRAPHY

As far as I can remember, art has been in my blood. My parents once told me, that the moment I picked up a pencil or writing tool, I was able to create and draw things that I would see. Even if I didn’t have a pencil or paper, I could memorize an image in my head and then make it reappear on a canvas. I feel that art is a gift that comes from God. I use this gift to create art, which reflects my life experiences both past and present. Most of these experiences, good and bad, came from growing up poor, but with a rich family life.

My parents came to the United States from Mexico to seek out a better life and to give their children more opportunities to succeed. I grew up working out in the agricultural fields of California starting at the age of 13. I saw Mexican people struggling to make ends meet. This hard labor and farm work helped me see what my people had to go through just to live; it taught me how to appreciate life and thank God for what I had. I also experienced growing up in a violent neighborhood. I was faced with temptations of gangs and drugs on a daily basis and had to learn to draw on my faith and inner strength to avoid these things.

Through art, I have been able to reflect on the past to create an interpretation of these personal experiences. My art also had been created based on choices I made during a particular time in my life. I greatly enjoy expressing my roots and culture. Many experiences evoke strong emotions in me such as: happiness, anger and love; these emotions have become my inspiration for many works of art. Much of what I create also reflects urban Mexican and farm communities as well as Mexican history.  My art reflects not only the past, but present day struggles and triumphs of real, everyday life.

In conclusion, I want to thank our Lord, Jesus Christ, for blessing me and allowing me to continue my journey in life. I want to thank my wife, Sarah J.Ramirez, my parents, Francisco and Maria Trinidad Ramirez, my siblings and their families and my in-laws, Roger and Cynthia Huchthausen and family. Of course I cannot forget my little girl, Luna, our chocolate lab.