“Kino” was the result of an art contest I entered, after I’d only been painting for 6 months.          

I very easily won first prize - perhaps because not many people entered!  It never hurts to try!

The first painting I ever sold was a portrait of Frida Kahlo, at the Santa Ana College Student Art Sale. Many people are enthusiastic Frida fans, which inspired me to try more portraits.

“Rancho del Zocalo” was actually inspired by a hostess I saw standing in the doorway of a Disneyland restaurant. The scene was so colorful and lovely that I had to snap her picture and immortalize it. To this day, I still think this is one of the most difficult paintings I’ve ever attempted. The original model actually had blonde hair!