Francisco Palomares
Francisco Palomares is a contemporary artist based in East Los Angeles. He first became interested in oil painting by studying the work of classical painters like Rembrandt, Francisco de Goya, and Diego de Velazquez. Encouraged by educators in his youth, Palomares studied the fundamentals of drawing and painting at Ryman Arts School from 2005 to 2007. In 2014, he earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting from California State University, Long Beach, where he was awarded two scholarships to study abroad in Italy and China. After his studies he relocated to his childhood neighborhood of Boyle Heights setting up his studio: PalomaresBLVD. His studio is a fictional street where he re-envisions Los Angeles inviting viewers to take the stage with him in storytelling. Palomares draws upon his lived experiences combining elements of historical narratives and present-day social challenges. In addition to his studio practice, Palomares operates Francisco’s Fresh Paintings. For this weekly public art installation, Palomares has transformed the iconic fruit cart he grew up seeing around Los Angeles into a mobile art gallery and studio, where he paints live on the corner of 3rd and Traction at historic Joel Bloom Square in the heart of the Arts District. A client often goes home with an original painting, where the paint may still be drying. The work is fresh from the source and disrupts art mediated through a dealer.
As a first generation Mexican-American, Palomares celebrates the immigrant spirit, entrepreneurship, and the American dream while advocating for recognition of that community through this project.
