About the
Artist
I always knew that I could draw and paint. In first grade, I won a contest at school and I knew from that moment on that I could draw, that I could see what made up all the colors, shapes, and lines. I knew what the colors underneath needed to be, and I fell in love with oil paint. From then on, I started doing copies for relatives and friends. I was a pretty good copier. As a result, my own style didn’t evolve until several years ago when a very catastrophic event in my life changed everything. From that moment on, it was as though my mind could see, my heart feel, and my soul was free to express and follow the path I should have been on from the very beginning.
The paintings for this website are from my Plein Air experiences in California and some studio paintings. I am attempting to show how the light affects the scenery and how it changes as the day grows long. My love of painting outdoors is a challenge for me. However, I get to enjoy so many beautiful sites to paint in the company of other great artists. I see the beauty of God’s light on everything and it is a struggle for me to put it on my canvas. I get so carried away by the bright colors I am seeing that I have to pull my self back to concentrate on the form, composition and other details that go into making a great painting. I am really enjoying being the President of PAAR/Plein Air Artists of Riverside because I am involved in making the decisions that take us to so many great places to paint. I feel such a sense of pride in being a founding member of Plein Air Artists of Riverside, PAAR.
I was born in Chihuahua City, Chihuahua, Mexico - I’m last child in a family of twelve children. My name Luz comes from the fact that my mother had 5 children who died at childbirth. She told my dad, “voy a dar a luz en el hospital,” and if I lived, my name would be Luz. To give birth in Spanish is to “dar a luz” – literally, “to give to light” maybe that is why I am so concerned about putting light into my paintings.
In Mexico, my dad was an electrical engineer and we were well off. But he saw the golden opportunity and we moved to the United States, embraced the American culture, and tried to do our best. Many times we did not know where our next meal was coming from. My experiences as a child were very similar to those of other Mexican children who had only one pair of shoes for the year, and picked fruit or cotton in the fields to help the family meet its quota. To this day, I can feel the prickly cotton boles scratching my hands…..I can’t seem to put enough hand cream on my hands or buy enough shoes to match my outfits.
I always knew that I could draw and paint. In first grade, I won a contest at school and I knew from that moment on that I could draw, that I could see what made up all the colors, shapes, and lines. I knew what the colors underneath needed to be, and I fell in love with oil paint. From then on, I started doing copies for relatives and friends. I was a pretty good copier. As a result, my own style didn’t evolve until several years ago when a very catastrophic event in my life changed everything. From that moment on, it was as though my mind could see, my heart feel, and my soul was free to express and follow the path I should have been on from the very beginning.
The paintings for this website are from my Plein Air experiences in California and some studio paintings. I am attempting to show how the light affects the scenery and how it changes as the day grows long. My love of painting outdoors is a challenge for me. However, I get to enjoy so many beautiful sites to paint in the company of other great artists. I see the beauty of God’s light on everything and it is a struggle for me to put it on my canvas. I get so carried away by the bright colors I am seeing that I have to pull my self back to concentrate on the form, composition and other details that go into making a great painting. I am really enjoying being the President of PAAR/Plein Air Artists of Riverside because I am involved in making the decisions that take us to so many great places to paint. I feel such a sense of pride in being a founding member of Plein Air Artists of Riverside, PAAR.
I was born in Chihuahua City, Chihuahua, Mexico - I’m last child in a family of twelve children. My name Luz comes from the fact that my mother had 5 children who died at childbirth. She told my dad, “voy a dar a luz en el hospital,” and if I lived, my name would be Luz. To give birth in Spanish is to “dar a luz” – literally, “to give to light” maybe that is why I am so concerned about putting light into my paintings.
In Mexico, my dad was an electrical engineer and we were well off. But he saw the golden opportunity and we moved to the United States, embraced the American culture, and tried to do our best. Many times we did not know where our next meal was coming from. My experiences as a child were very similar to those of other Mexican children who had only one pair of shoes for the year, and picked fruit or cotton in the fields to help the family meet its quota. To this day, I can feel the prickly cotton boles scratching my hands…..I can’t seem to put enough hand cream on my hands or buy enough shoes to match my outfits.