We were lucky to catch up with Ricardo Islas recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ricardo, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is painting two murals at Chicano Park. I moved to San Diego, CA. in 1991 from Calexico, CA. with my girlfriend Liliana, who is now my wife. We loved San Diego, but there was something we were missing. One day we were driving down the freeway when we saw a big event happening under the Coronado Bridge. We decided to check it out. It was the Chicano Park Day celebration. We found what we were missing, the food, the cars, the music, the art and the culture. It felt like we were back in our hometown. After that we tried to attend Chicano Park Day every year. I never dreamt that I could have my own mural at the park. At the time I first attended Chicano Park Day I was drawing what I knew, the death metal and hardcore punk scene. Fast forward 10 years, I took an oil painting class at Mesa College where I met my mentor Robert Sanchez. The first real painting I did was a guy that had overdosed in the bathtub with my hometown tattooed on his stomach. From that point on I was a Chicano artist. I painted death, poverty and eventually light hearted work with a strong message. All the hard work paid off.
In 2015 Chicano Park steering committee reached out and asked if I would submit some sketches for new murals at the park. The two sketches were approved. What truly makes this experience memorable is the amount of friends that spent hours helping me to scrape, primer and paint the walls. It was a true community effort. My wife and four year old daughter Alicia also picked up a brush to lend a hand. That is what makes it special. My daughter is twelve now and she is proud to say that she helped paint the murals. That experience makes me feel like I’ve left my mark.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Back in 1999 I took a painting class that changed my life . My first painting was a guy that overdosed in the bath tub. It got the same reaction as when I would draw fliers for punk bands. It had a shock value to it. So I set off to create a series of paintings on death in the Mexican as well as Chicano community. I wasn’t in it for the money. I wanted to complete a body of work before I sold anything. Eventually my paintings focused on poverty, homelessness and the struggle of people in my community as well as in Mexico. I wanted to tell a story that often gets overlooked. In 2005 I noticed that most toys represented the white community so I had the idea for a show titled Toys R’nt Us. In that show I painted classic American toys converted into Chicano versions. For example, I converted the Red Radio Flyer Wagon into a low rider wagon with a twisted metal handle. I painted the classic operation game into the same character with a mustache and instead of bones, the classic Chicano tattoos are labeled and removable. I also converted the Little People from Fisher Price, Green Army Men and a Pez dispenser into Chicano toys.
Whether I’m painting toys, day of the dead skeletons, poverty or death I hope to include some social commentary that represents my community.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is creating a piece of art that someone feels enough of a connection to purchase the painting. I feel a connection to the images I paint. I often use images that are nostalgic to me, whether it’s toys, clothing or funny scenes that are common in our community. The end goal is to focus on cultural identity and for there to be images of my community in the art world.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My future goal is to one day produce the toys I paint into actual toys. I want kids to see themselves as the toys they purchase.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @realricardoislas
• Facebook: @Ricardo Islas
• Other: ricardoislas.bigcartel.com