I have an art studio/gallery/classroom in Sanger, California, in the heart of the San Joaquin valley. I paint and teach there and show my work in the small, picturesque brick gallery building. I love painting places in my town and surrounding towns in a whimsical way as well as doing large, colorful abstract and expressionistic paintings. I paint to make myself happy and to give others joy as well. Since opening the gallery 12 years ago, I have done commissions for a local church, the local Audubon society, collaborated on a book of paintings and poems with my cousin, Wyatt Figueroa, in Texas, created a lot of paintings, and recently, a magazine called "Mama's Mantras"--Vintage Advice for Today's Parents by Yesterday's Experts!