Los Angeles artist Patssi Valdez's goal in life has always been to be a great painter. Until 1988 though, she worked primarily in other media: performance and conceptual art, photography and installations.
"I have struggled with painting since I was 16," she says. "I didn't know how to mix colors, and made mud paintings."
But in 1988, when she was teaching art to children she had a breakthrough. With the kids, Valdez was free from the pressure of the art world and self-criticism to experiment with color. She was also motivated by David Hockney's retrospective at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Valdez bought canvas and paints, and in eight weeks had a small body of paintings that were shown at the Pico House on Olvera Street. She sold every one of them. A curator from France saw the work, and soon her work was seen in France, Spain and Sweden.
