Current Works

I grew up in an agrarian family and community, so my current series, The Field Workers of Brawley, is a celebration of the people I grew up with and from whom I learned so much.  Depicted are scenes from varying seasons each portraying the everyday work life of the field worker and their dedication to the agriculture.  This is a series of realistic oil paintings capturing figures in landscape that simply shows the humanity of people striving to make a better life for themselves and their families.

I’ve visited the fields a number of times where I’ve taken countless photographs.  The best images become the inspiration for each composition. I then continue with several small sketches that eventually become the finished painting.  I use canvases that are small to medium size to ensure an intimate feeling to each painting.    My color palette is limited and realistic in order to not romanticize the work being done, but instead, to create a feeling through color of the monotony of the field work.

Much of these works are in homage to my parents and family, who still work in the fields, in tribute to their efforts and years of intense labor for a better life.  In “El Campo de Fresas”, you don’t see a great deal of red color for the strawberries in order to keep the palette more subdued.  I have figures placed in the background to illustrate the expansiveness of the fields as strawberries are picked manually without any use of machinery.  In “La Cosecha de Lechuga” I utilized a limited palette but brought life to the piece through the bright white aprons and facial expressions.  In both pieces I try to depict the realism of their work without making it more, or less, than what it is – a means to a greater end.  It was always my intent to represent the hard and diligent work that people put into making a better life for themselves and their families.  In celebration of the life and labor of this vast and dedicated agrarian community, I trust that I have fairly represented the men and women of the fields through this series of paintings.

The Field Workers of Brawley