I’ve wanted to be an artist all my life. Since I was a child I’ve drawn on any scrap of paper I could get a hold of. When I went to San Jose State University, I became exposed to the works of the great fine artists and illustrators. My college paintings were heavily influenced by the humorous illustrations of Peter De Seve, an illustrator for the New Yorker magazine. I also fell under the spell of the great muralists of the 1930s, especially Thomas Hart Benton and Diego Rivera. I graduated with a degree in Illustration.
Since my time in college, I’ve illustrated 3 books: Two Moms the Zark and Me by Johnny Valentine in 1993; Night Travelers by Sue Hill in 1994; and Cherubic Children’s New Classic Story Book Volume 2 for Cherubic Press in 1998. I’ve painted murals for Lester Shields Elementary School in San Jose, the Berryessa branch of the San Jose Public Library, and the Sunnyvale Public Library.
I’ve had a few illustrations published in South Bay Accent Magazine, Tikkun Magazine, the Palo Alto Daily News and in April 2008 my artwork was on the cover of Z Magazine. As of April 9, 2008, I also will have my cartoons regularly published in the Tri-City Voice, a weekly newspaper that covers the Fremont, Hayward, Milpitas, Neward, Sunol and Union City areas in California. 
To look at those cartoons, go to http://www.tricityvoice.com/archive.php and turn to the crossword puzzle page. My cartoons for Z Magazine are found at http://www.zcommunications.org/zspace/angelolopez .
A quote by Thomas Hart Benton continues to inspire me. He wrote: “I know there is no such thing as failure in the pursuit of art. Merely to survive in that pursuit is a success. Pictures may fail to please, movements may fail to survive, but the artist has his rewards anyway. He may lose his public and his market and still get full compensation for his efforts. Quite apart from the public values of art – those which give it significance in the social history of a people – the act of artistic creation has its own psychological payoff and a very considerable one. The rewards of art, for the artist himself, are concomitants of its practice. The only way an artist can personally fail is to quit work.”
For more information, contact Angelo by e:mail: ninongangelo@gmail.com
The artworks contained on the pages of this Web site are for screen viewing only. They remain the property of the artists and may not be reproduced without written permission.
© Copyright 2000–2009 Angelo Lopez. All rights reserved worldwide