Ricardo Ruiz

Ricardo Ruiz is a Chicano artist based in Corpus Christi, Texas whose paintings depict scenes infused with Mexican folklore and personal memoir. The URL for his professional website is "ricardoruiz.art".

Biography Ricardo Ruiz (also known as Ricardo Ruiz the Elder) was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he still resides. Ruiz could draw before he could even talk and by the age of three he could draw on command. His introduction to art was through religious images he was exposed to at local churches His paintings are influenced by artists such as Hieronymus Bosch, Peter Bruegel the Elder, and Gregory Gillespie. Ruiz primarily works in oil, watercolors, and acrylic, and his paintings focus on Chicano culture, and his own family heritage. His son, Ricardo V. Ruiz, is an artist and printmaker. Ricardo Ruiz the Elder has been working as an artist for over 35 years.

Artworks One of Ruiz' well known pieces is his Love Songs for the Palomia, a painting of a grackle wearing a fez hat and in front of a bright green background. However, he had never seen a dead one so it became an inside joke that grackles have the same longevity as humans which would also give them the same abilities to be civilized as well.

Group exhibitions

1985 - Texas A&M University's Weil Gallery

Collections Ricardo Ruiz's works can be found in the permanent collection of Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art, Texas A&M University Weil Gallery, and the Art Museum of Southern Texas.