My Family

I was away from my dear family for too long, pursuing my first career across the country. They always cheered me on, but I missed out on valuable lessons that only being near them could provide. Since returning home in 2019, I’ve been caring for my self-esteem, setting healthy boundaries, and not letting anyone take away my joy. Similar to the Japanese art of Kintsugi, I learned to honor my emotional scars.

Simultaneous to starting my art business, I worked at my family’s office & warehouse leasing company in San Diego as I needed financial stability in order to pursue my love of drawing and painting. Though my economic constraints were similar to other emerging artists, I was blessed to work with my mom and brother while I was taking off professionally.

Besides a spiritual sense of fulfillment by helping, I genuinely enjoyed the work. It was a combination of executive management with warehouse grit, and it never ceased to stimulate, particularly in the back of the building where all the different warehouse workers congregated each morning to buy burritos from a lady’s van. It had the feel of being in “little Mexico,” and from what I hear, the burritos were amazing. These experiences fueled my art when I sketched during lunch breaks, or got home in the evenings to paint.

Some Highlights from my Past 

I didn’t know any English until I turned eleven years old, but I knew how to draw since I was eight. I taught myself art during third grade math class, where I would draft buildings (specifically hotels). I barely passed the class, but I kept drawing new worlds ever since, using only graphite and a ruler. Once a teenager, I learned portraiture and landscapes when I attended West Valley High School in the California dessert.

When the Great Recession hit us, I understood the need to have a reliable career, and did as many extracurricular activities as I could to make sure I got into the best college. This included running cross-country, creating a peer-tutoring program, and even taking part in politics. At age sixteen, I was a candidate to join the California State Board of Education, which led me to present legislation to local board members and even state senators.

These wonderful experiences, besides good grades and a portfolio, granted me the honor of becoming my high school’s senior of the year and later admission to Cornell University’s School of Architecture in 2010, moving me across the country to upstate New York. I wanted the typical Hollywood-esque college experience, and though I didn’t join a frat, I had great friends and we threw legendary parties at our apartment above a popular bagel shop. Parties and pastries aside, I had a part-time job that provided me some income while I racked up thousands in student debt.

The architecture curriculum at Cornell was rigorous and demanded too many sleepless nights, but it allowed me to grow as a designer. My academic research allowed me to explore museums in Western Europe and granted me the honor of twice presenting my work at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA on the relationship between neuroscience and architecture.

By the time I graduated in 2015, my face had rings underneath my eyes stretching down to my smile. Exhausted but eager, I immediately moved to New York City and started working at my dream job designing hotels with the Rockwell Group. I promptly ascended professionally, becoming one of the youngest project managers in the firm at twenty-six years old (if I can brag for a second), enjoying a close relationship with clients and coworkers.

After completing one of my biggest projects there, the 15 Hudson Yards tower in Manhattan, NY, I reflected on my performance, and concluded that my work’s success wasn’t due to a virtuous talent or charm, but because of my eagerness to adapt and learn (which also explains some other past achievements in different areas).This newfound confidence further grew my faith in having an art career one day.

Having finished that chapter in New York, I synthesized that my passion in architecture wasn't because of construction or team collaboration, though those were fun. Instead, I loved the possibilities of creating limitless architecture; a realm best revealed in art. Consistently fatigued, I returned to Southern California in 2019 and updated my resume, but as I carried on with my job search, my heart wasn’t in it. I didn’t want to work for someone else again; instead, I wanted to be my own boss as a full-time artist!

I had to recalibrate my mind if I was going to start my own business, but once I was done overthinking, I got busy over-doing. I enrolled in art classes at local colleges, published an art book with some colleagues, and set up a small but prosperous studio in my apartment. Despite the pandemic, I got the venture off the floor, and it is consistently growing.

Thanks for making it to the end of this very long story; I wanted to be thorough in my past and clarify my intentions. For years, I lived a Fast & Furious lifestyle. Thanks to the help of others and some positive changes, I now strive to live in a slower and steadier pace. As the Italians say, “chi va piano, va sano, e va lontano” (slow and steady pace wins the race).  I’m excited to share my artwork with you. Please reach out if you have any questions or just to say hello! Hope you stay safe and healthy.

Much Love,

Alvaro