BIO

..I am not a fan of talking about myself. I have been blessed with the opportunity to devote a lot of time to studying printmaking. I have been even more blessed to have done so with some very kind and patient people. The short story is that I was studying fine art and took a printmaking class. Prior to taking the class I would look at etchings and lithographs in books. I loved the sometimes bleeding lines of etchings and lithographs sounded like some kind of product cranked out by an x-ray machine. I took my first class and promptly stopped all other studies to focus on printmaking. I want to give credit to my instructor Michael Southern for allowing me to foray into non-traditional mark-making in those early classes. Black ink etchings were my friends in the beginning years.

I spent the first half of my childhood in Madrid, Spain. English is not my first language although I can no longer speak Spanish. I also grew up in that transition between the 1960’s and early 1970’s. I still love color and form in the context of that time period. My older brother brought home crazy black light posters and albums laden with magical cover art. My ethnic lineage is Mexican-American.

I don’t want to labor the viewer with wordy statements. I have always resented reading statements I simply could not understand. The statements on this site are distilled to the most basic elements. What is the point of going further? I suppose it is a matter of taste.

In the past I have been asked who has influenced my work. I have studied the color decisions and compositions of Marie Watt and (Ms.) Rae Mahaffey for years. Their prints are a wonderful balance of decision making in layering and color mixing. There is an airy essence that was not in the work of other artists I was familiar with.

I want to thank Master Printer Mark Mahaffey and his wife Rae Mahaffey for their time and patience. He is undoubtedly the best printer I have ever worked with. I also want to thank Marie Watt, Tamarind Master Printer Frank Janzen and his wife Marie Janzen for their support, especially early on. I am grateful for the gracious help of my friends Aimee Eckhardt and her husband, Tamarind Master Printer Aaron Shipps. They built this web site. A special thanks to my family for their support through it all. Lastly, I acknowledge the creative inclination that I acquired from my mother, Imelda Villanueva Villarreal.