As an artist I have always tried to be faithful to my vision of life, and I have frequently been in conflict with those who wanted me to paint not what I saw but what they wished me to see.
–Diego Rivera

As a young student in Mexico City, I remember discovering the murals of Diego Rivera. I could not believe that a single person was capable of producing miles and miles of art. But there, right in front of my eyes, I could see the history of Mexico depicted in very peculiar way; they did not resemble other paintings I had seen. They had a unique Mexican touch that captured my curiosity taking me into a journey to discover and understand the Mexican muralism movement. This road lead me further to discover the art of José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros.

Rivera believed that painting murals on the walls of public buildings, generally with social and political messages, made his art accessible to everyone and thereby reunifying the country after the Mexican Revolution. This idea appeals to me, especially at this time when our country is under assault from radical anti-democratic forces, and allows me to have a voice and to participate in the freedom of speech process which is the foundation of this country.

“The object of my work is to report the actuality of events.”
–Francisco Goya

The painting, “The Third of May”, by Goya has opened the door to artists like myself to express what society does not want to confront. Most artists begin a painting with a conviction that is true to themselves, however, I strongly believe that art should be more visceral, to move you and cause you to reflect on what the artist has created. This was the principal idea for the creation of my series “The Faces Behind Torture”. My principal point was to put a face to the people accountable for this time period in our nation. In support of this point I quote Robert Hughes: “Most of the victims have faces. The killers do not. This is one of the most often-noted aspects of the Third of May, and rightly so: with this painting, the modern image of war as anonymous killing is born, and a long tradition of killing as ennobled spectacle comes to its overdue end.” *

“I see Humans. But no Humanity.”
–Banksy

Banksy, like Davis Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera, and Jose Clente Orozco, toke to the stress and painted the walls of public buildings, inspiring hundreds of young artist to express themselves. I for one wanted to take part in this movement. My idea was, and remains, to create an art installation in protest of the deportation of “Dreamers”, where people will write their thought / message on a white, red or blue ribbon and pin it to the art, eventually having the hole painting covered, simultaneously doing the same on a public web page. To log into the web page http://dreamingbehindthefence.com/

“Life etches itself onto our faces as we grow older, showing our violence, excesses or kindnesses.”
–Rembrandt

As depicted in a Rembrandt painting, individuals come in shades of all kinds. I needed to find something positive about the human race and so I began the series, “The Faces Behind Peace”. It was a life affirming experience researching and creating paintings of some of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates.

“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?”
— Vincent Van Gogh