Francisco Palomares is a painter, educator, and performance artist whose work honors and brings visibility to East Los Angeles, where he grew up and currently works. As a first-generation Mexican American, Palomares celebrates the immigrant spirit, entrepreneurship, and the American dream within that community while advocating for their recognition in the face of gentrification. His still lifes, landscapes, and portraits blend techniques from classical European painting with ordinary scenes from his neighborhood, including storefronts, helium balloons, flowers, and piñatas. In his words, this creative strategy “provide[s] a platform for stories unheard, people unseen, and places overlooked.”
Source: Craft in American, Not Real Art
