Puerto Vallarta has always been a source of inspiration for many artists. Some have earned fame and fortune from the works they have created here, others are still trying to gain recognition. As Victor, a street artist who works on the main square puts it, "At least I'm in a place where I find things that inspire me all the time. I just look around and . . . there is my next painting!"
As Victor, a street artist who works on the main square puts it, "At least I'm in a place where I find things that inspire me all the time. I just look around and . . . there is my next painting!"
What is it about Vallarta that makes it a beacon to talented and creative people who fall in love with the place and make it their home and source of inspiration? It seems to be a combination of the magic of the place, its people, its colors and incredible surroundings.
Inspiration, according to the captivating Ramiz Barquet, comes from, "the place where love comes from, the place inside oneself where God resides." The creator of three sculptures which adorn the streets of Vallarta, Ramiz continues, "Living in a place like Puerto Vallarta, all that I see is projected in to my work with the strength and richness of my inspiration."
Julio, a talented Huichol artist who comes to Vallarta from the mountains to work in a local gallery, says, "My inspiration comes from within, from the memory of my visions. When I am in Puerto Vallarta it is easy to work because the colors around me are like the colors in the visions."
Marta Gilbert, whose extraordinary paintings transmit her fascination for people's expressions and color, has made Vallarta her home. She tells us, "The magic of Vallarta captivated me from the first time I came here on vacation. I knew right away that this was where I wanted to be. Here I can go out for a walk and find inspiration everywhere: the people, their faces, the colors of everything in Vallarta."
Cathy Von Rohr, who lived in Majahuitas for 27 years before moving to town comments, "I've gone from painting native huts and life among the people of Las Animas and Quimixto to conveying universal sentiments. Puerto Vallarta is full of creative sources: oceans, mountains, and an agreeable climate that makes it a very special place."
Ada Colorina, a native Vallartense whose father taught many local artists, has a delightful way of recreating life in Vallarta. Her style has been classified as Naif or Primitive but she thinks that, "It is only the way I see Vallarta, or maybe I should say the way I imagine Vallarta used to be. Before my father died he was my teacher and mentor, he told me what to look for in my paintings. Now I have learned to see things in a different way and my everyday life in Vallarta inspires me . . . it's really very simple. All I do is see the people in the plaza or the little ranches in the sierra and that's it, that is what I paint."
These are the words of just a few of the many artists in Puerto Vallarta. Yet it seems to be a common theme among them all - Vallarta is a boundless source for inspiring and creating art.
