For the source of inspiration, nature and color are
my platform. Before I go to my studio, usually a hike is needed to find sources
of energy and the appropriate colors. The blue is from Crater Lake, and the whites
are from the snowy peaks of Mt. Ashland, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Bachelor. The yellow
is from the wild flowers at the coast, and the red from the Rose Garden in Portland.
Green is from the Redwoods, and orange, pink, and gold from the lakes and rivers
at dawn. The black is from midnight. At this time, inspiration comes from the stars.
My studio is located in Southern Oregon, on a mountain with a view to the forest
where it is quiet, the air is clean, and night the stars shine bright. I live by
Viktor E. Frankl’s imperative “live as if you were living for the second time and
had acted as wrongly the first time as you are about to act now” (Frankl, 1959).
Suggesting through action and repetition, improvement and appreciation of life are
achieved.
I was born and raised in Peru and am the fourth generation of painters
on my mother’s side of the family (Spiers). My bachelor’s degree is in fine art
(B.F.A.) from Memphis College of Art, and my master’s (M.F.A.) is from the University
of Texas at San Antonio. Currently I am pursuing a Ph.D. in psychology with expected
date of graduation in 2011. My paintings are exhibited nationally. Among the highlights
in my career are a Fellowship Grant by the Oregon Arts Commission in 2000, a commission
to paint a mural for the Oregon State Capitol Building in 1994/5, and in 2009, my
work was semi-finalist at the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, National Portrait
Gallery, Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C