Author archives: Joaquin

Born among the gnarled cypress trees and windswept dunes of Fort Ord (overlooking the Monterey Bay), Joaquin's childhood began with a visceral connection to the area's unique landscape and ethereal light. As a child, his father's career moved the family to Germany where Joaquin was introduced to some of the world's greatest art museums through family road trips to Italy, France, Austria, and Holland. He was deeply inspired by the Old Masters he encountered in the museums and showed promise as an artist from an early age. Joaquin enrolled in private painting classes in Germany where he fell in love with oil painting and studying the techniques of the Masters. His family permanently returned to the Monterey area in 1991, allowing Joaquin to finish high school in Pacific Grove. He attended college in San Jose, earning his degree in Graphic Arts. During his tenure as a graphic designer, Joaquin painted and exhibited in his free time until his passion for painting and the overwhelming response to his work led him to escape the office environment in order to pursue a full-time career as a fine artist. His paintings are in collections throughout North America, Europe, and Japan. Joaquin is highly influenced by the works of late 19th/early 20th century Monterey Peninsula artists, including Charles Rollo Peters, William Ritschel, Gottardo Piazzoni, Percy Gray, as well as many of the SF Bay Area artists that frequently painted the area during the early 1900's. Joaquin's paintings display a fervent spirituality and deep admiration for the unparalleled beauty of the Monterey Peninsula.