I am Jaime Zacarias, the youngest of three. My two siblings have moved out of our house and left my father and me to live together in Los Angeles. My mother passed away a few years back and it has been a challenge to live without her because she was my guidance and the number one fan of my artwork. I was born and raised in south central Los Angeles' gang infested neighborhoods. I have seen lots of violence and drug abuse along with ignorance and many individuals who drop out of school. Los Angeles has presented me with good and bad experiences that have shaped my life and views. I continue to live in Los Angeles, with a supportive friend and my father.

I have been taught by some of the worst schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. I attended elementary at Graham and continued to Charles Drew Middle School, then moved on to the slightly better Huntington Park High School. I did my best to stay in school and away from gang violence and tried to keep those friends that led me in positive directions. Since elementary school my artistic talents have been noticed by my teachers and my peers. For example, in elementary school I was frequently asked by other classmates to draw things for them. During my last year in elementary school I was chosen as a candidate for being gifted in art. My high school years were when art teachers saw something special in my art and would place me in small art contests and continued to support my artistic creativity by inviting me back to their classrooms and granting me unlimited access to supplies.

I have had a passion for art since I was a child in elementary school and I continue to find happiness and beauty in spending hours of a day painting and sketching. I have a natural desire to paint; I am a self-motivated painter. My mother believed in my artwork, and so have many friends and strangers that I have shown my work to. I know my mother, before she passed away, wanted me to become someone important during my life, and she remains my biggest motivation to continue my education in art and to expand my creativity and artistic talents.

My artwork is truly spontaneous and unplanned. I trust my instincts and when I want to create something, the image appears. Because most of my work is unplanned, it is difficult to say when it is finished, so I go by feelings and instinct to guide me to a finished product. Since elements of my work include spontaneity and randomness, my finished product may be simple or insanely complicated. It is as if I do not think about what I am doing until I do it. My thought process and hand-to-paper process flow simultaneously. I use narrative imagery, graffiti art and found surfaces. I work in an audience-friendly style that allows the viewer to experience the piece.     CONTINUED >>