I have been an artist and “scholar” (jack-of-all-trades) all my life. I began drawing and painting before I could speak, according to my mother. I got into the ‘business’ of Art in 1986 and have supported myself as a painter/performing musician since then. I paint plein air works on large gessoed wood panels. I go on location, paint what I see, looking for interesting compositions of architecture, terrain, plants, streets and skies. I endeavor to capture the essence and atmosphere of a locale and maintain an open eye for unplanned objects or passersby to enhance the piece. As a performing musician, I started in 1986 and have played in various band-genres such as mariachi, Tex Mex conjunto, “rock”, Cajun Zydeco and Americana or 1920s era pop jazz. I play (can PERFORM) diatonic accordion, Hammond organ, guitarrón (mariachi bass), acoustic guitar, (classical) quena, (Andean flute) tenor banjo, and sikus. (Andean pan-pipes)
Artist Style: Ethnically/Culturally Specific Art; Latino/a Art; Music: Acoustic, Americana, Blues, Cajun/Zydeco, Conjunto, Folk, Jazz, Polka, Pop, Regional Mexican, Tejano, World; Teaching Artist/Instructor: Workshop Presenter; Theatre: Solo/One-Person; Visual Art: Figurative, Illustrative, Impressionistic, Landscape/Cityscape, Narrative/Historical, Portraiture, Representational, Social Commentary, Still Life; Performer of conjunto; Japanese, Italian, Czech and Chinese folk and 1920's pop jazz.