Congratulations to Lisa Ruiz, recipient of a 2010 Bravo Award!
I grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and I am a true Californian. After spending six years in the Baltimore/Washington Metro area, while earning a degree in Fine Arts, I could not begin my creative career without coming home to L.A. I worked as a Graphic Designer for three years and then decided to try teaching. I have been teaching for nearly twelve years and I still look forward to working with my students every day. I teach a full day of studio art classes at a visual and performing arts magnet school and maintain my own studio after school and on weekends.
I earned my Bachelors in Fine Arts at the University of Maryland at Towson where I concentrated in painting and photography. I have also studied at the Laguna College of Art. I enjoy experimenting with all media, but I have spent the most time working with oils, watercolor, and soft pastel. I love to paint, I can’t make it through the day without creating something. My husband jokes that I’ll paint anything that will stand still long enough. He doesn’t know it but I’ve even tried painting a moving surface.
My subjects vary depending on what moves me. I love to paint landscapes and scenes of places I have been. I enjoy doing meaningful still life that includes objects that remind me of a special person or place. The figure is a challenge I have always relished. There is nothing more beautiful than the human form. It presents so many creative opportunities for expression. I am currently working on a Goddess series. It includes female nudes in natural settings that accentuate the softness of the female form and compares the lines and shapes to nature.