I was born an artist, though not a very good one at first. Although I have had little formal art education or training, I have taught myself the basics of painting and continue to learn each day.  Most of my work is executed in mixed media, primarily my very own recipe of acrylic paints, charcoal, pastels, and collaged elements. 
 
Raised in the border town of Brownsville, Texas by Mexican immigrant parents, I grew up bilingual and bicultural.  My mother was a midwife, my father a farmworker/taxi driver.  There were six kids in the family and I was the oldest daughter.  Our living conditions forced us to grow up fast and with few frills.  At the age of twelve, I began assisting my mother in delivering babies. I mention this fact because I believe that witnessing the extreme pain, joy, and power of being woman affected me deeply and has influenced my art to this day.
 
I am now in my late forties; a mother and grandmother. The women I paint are mostly Mexican or Indian in appearance.  Nonetheless, the stories they tell and the emotion imbued in each are universal.  The women I met as a child-midwife were stoic, proud, and tender.  They taught me much and I honor their gifts by painting them.

In my artwork, I also continue to explore the many forms of expressing duality of Self.  This is a subject that fascinates me; perhaps it stems from growing up with one foot in the Mexican culture and the other in the American culture.  In my paintings and collages I often deal with the tension for constant balance between the two sides of Self:  the public self/ private self, our dark side and our light side, past self/ future self, etc..  Again, though ultimately personal, this exploration does tap into the collective soul of humanity.