Pete Villaseñor

Pete Villaseñor moved from his hometown of San Antonio, Texas to the Bay Area in the 90's and ever since then, has exhibited in San Antonio, San Francisco, and in the East Bay. "Because I didn't have much room to paint in our small SF apartment, I began to look for a more compact medium and after taking Printmaking classes at Laney College, I was hooked. I enjoyed the process of etching and pulling prints and became a member of the Graphic Arts Workshop in San Francisco. I also exhibited and sold at the Artists Cooperative "City Art Gallery" in the Mission for about 10 years. After moving to Oakland in 2015, I returned to painting once again, now that I had access to a backyard studio. I am currently exhibiting as a member of the Oakland Arts Association in various shows and I’ve also been participating the past two years in Open Studios with other artists from my community. I see my art practice as a basic necessity in my life, right up there with food and shelter. I'm an explorer of our inner and outer lives, trying my best to harmoniously channel those forces into my paintings.Since early 2022, I've been working part-time at my day job as Sr. Librarian at the César Chávez Library in Oakland and taking this step has made all the difference in accelerating my growth as an artist. Recent works have been inspired by my life-long love for birds as well as other animals. I also enjoy using Aztec and Mayan imagery in my art."