Aztec Creations •
www.aztecreations.net •
Aztecreations@hotmail.com

The Artwork of Ricardo Ortega transcends time and takes us on a mystical journey into an ancient way of life. His paintings reveal an array of indigenous symbols from Mexico's past, turning his colorful compositions into modern day codices which reveal the history, myths, legends, and spiritual beliefs of the Mexica people, better known as the Aztecs. Each painting captures the heritage of his ancestors, who held the arts with high regard, truly believing that the Tlacuilo (The Painter) had his heart rooted in God and would transfer the symbols of divinity to his paintings. This ancient tradition of creativity is the root of Mr. Ortega's art. In his paintings we see and feel a deep spiritual presence illuminating his compositions. His visions tend to stay away from the political, militaristic side of the Mexicas, keeping his eyes focused on the beautiful artistry they surrounded their lives with along with their deep devotion to the gods who ruled the Heavens, the Earth, and the Underworld. It has been written that the Aztecs were conquered and their way of life destroyed, yet here we see that they still live and breathe through the artistry of this twenty-first century Tlacuilo, The painter Ricardo Ortega.inline_mediumwraptextright32209113/featuredartists/1003_lrap_artist_ricardo_ortega1003_lrap_04_o+artist_recardo_ortega+aztec_family.jpgTrue

Rarely do we ever meet tattoo artists that are globally recognized and respected as true artisans. In this day and age of smoke and mirrors, hype and fan-based assumptions often makes for overnight celebrities but not for Horiyoshi the Third. His loyal fan base was adopted from underground roots and the cult following of his work is something that bas been bestowed upon new recruits through respected resources and years of illusive mystery. He's not in it for the fame, the hype or the publicity, rather, he's in this business to do what he was born to do and that's tattoo. In this very exclusive interview, Lowrider Arte sits down with one of Japan's most legendary tattoo artists.inline_mediumwraptextright27993583/featuredartists/1003_lrap_tattoo_artist_horiyoshi_iii1003_lrap_01_o+tattoo_artist_horiyoshi_iii+drawing.jpgTrue

Born in the Apatzingán, Michoacán Mexico, the heart of The Day of the Dead festivities, Crow has always been surrounded by colorful and handcraft art. He started drawing when he was 11 years old by copying faces from different magazines. Crow's attention to detail helped him develop his skills at a young age. After moving to Wilmington, California, he continued to practice drawing but was lured by the street way of life. Crow's mentality about living life to the fullest clouded his mind, and unfortunately, he made some wrong decisions that landed him in prison. That's where he mastered his skills on pieces of paper with his pencils and pens. Crow utilized the time he was behind bars to read and study about his history and he always pushed himself to do better in each drawing that he was producing. After completing his prison term Crow moved to Rosarito, Mexico, and with some help from his mom and dad he opened up a tattoo shop were he tattoos and creates pencil portraits. His skills have taken him far and he is now working on two different sets of flash. If you're ever in Rosarito, make sure you swing by the shop or check out Crow's work online at www.myspace.com/crow113.

Victor Bono is as much of an artist as he is an advocate for changing lives. His words are much like his copper work in the fact that they're both subtle yet powerful, both delicate yet strong. He's an artist that takes the same pride in his work as he does his culture and his soft-spoken voice is one that commands the attention that so many demand.inline_mediumwraptextright26230361/featuredartists/1001_lrap_victor_bono_coppersmith_mastering_craft1001_lrap_01_o+victor_bono_coppersmith_mastering_his_craft+bono.jpgTrue

One of Mexico's most prolific artist Octavio Ocampo was born in 1943 in Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico. He grew up in a family of designers and studied art from early childhood. His creativity started as a young child. Octavio has worked with many different artists. In art school, Octavio constructed papier-maché figures for floats, altars, and ornaments that were used during carnival parades and other festivals. In high school, Ocampo painted murals for the Preparatory School and the City Hall of Celaya. Ruth Rivera, daughter of artist and muralist Diego Rivera, and Maria Luisa Mendoza encouraged him to attend the School of Painting and Sculpture of the National Fine Art Institute.inline_mediumwraptextright26223392/featuredartists/1001_lrap_octavio_ocampo_metamorphosis_art1001_lrap_09_o+octavio_ocampo_metamorphosis_art+old_people.jpgTrue

We all like change and this is exactly what Summer brings. She's bringing the heat and along with it a fresh perspective. So break out the lawn chairs because she's not going anywhere, anytime soon.inline_mediumwraptextright26182493/featuredartists/1001_lrap_female_artist_summer_solstiz1001_lrap_05_o+female_artist_summer_solstiz+wasp.jpgTrue

Born and raised in Orange County, California, the artist known as Noah has emerged as one of the hottest talents to hit the fine art market and custom art scene. Noah first earned local recognition in the early 1990s for setting up his easel in neighborhood coffee shops around Costa Mesa and painting portraits of famous celebrities for throngs of fascinated patrons. His portraiture caught the eye of collectors like Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Craig T. Nelson, ZZ Top and the Black Crowes.inline_mediumwraptextright31087212/featuredartists/0807_lrap_the_artist_known_as_noah0807_lrap_07_z+artist_noah+angel_laying_down.jpeg.jpgTrue

Hate, animosity, and jealousy: the three-headed beast that seems to live within the core of beings populating and mingling in today’s world. Stories of positivity, determination, and truth present themselves infrequently, instead stories travel slowly amongst the masses of three-headed haters who are unwilling to lend an ear. Once a story commences, the importance lies not within how far the story travels, but how many will truly listen and understand.inline_mediumwraptextright25737596/featuredartists/0903_lrap_franco_vescovi_featured_artistlrap_0903_01_z+franco_vescovi+posing.jpeg.jpgTrue

Featured Artist
Genaro David Gallegos, better know as "El Stomper", was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico in 1978. In the land of Mariachi, Tequila, and the home of the great muralist Jose Clemente, Orozco houses a new kind of artist.inline_mediumwraptextright26865139/featuredartists/0907_lrap_tattoo_artist_genaro_david_gallegos0907_lrap_01_z+tattoo_artist_genaro_david_gallegos+el_stomper.jpeg.jpgTrue

In this interview, we wanted to find out what a tattoo artist wanted to know about another tattoo artist, so we had "Espi" and his cousin Carlos Espinoza sit down with Nikko Hurtado and his wife, Joanne, to pick Nikko's brain about his work and his way of tattooing. Espi's experience in tattooing has given him so much throughout the years, and one of the most valuable things is meeting great people like Nikko. Espi first met Nikko at the Expo Tautaje in Mexico, and he couldn't figure out what had impacted him more... his art or his insight.inline_mediumwraptextright25547084/featuredartists/lrap_0809_nikko_hurtado_tattoo_artistlrap_0809_01_z+nikko_hurtado+painted_face.jpeg.jpgTrue

With the "Day of the Dead" theme going strong some people jump in the bandwagon to take advantage of what's hot rather than truly understanding the meaning behind the Day of the Dead holiday. Kiki Platas is one of the few exceptions to that theory. We met with Kiki a few years back when he invited us to his Tattoo Convention in Tijuana, Baja California. Kiki's Day of the Dead artwork has been collected for many years before it went mainstream and before it started popping up on clothing, accessories and purses. Kiki is truly one of the best artists to come out of Mexico and is well respected in the art community. Kiki's unique way of expressing his artwork has taken him all over the world showing off his skills both in flesh and on paper. Kiki is back in the United States and is ready to take on what's next with the support of his family, friends, and fans. We sit down and ask Kiki a few personal questions about his work and life and this is what he had to say.inline_mediumwraptextright25531832/featuredartists/0911_lrap_kiki_platas_tattoo_artist0911_lrap_01_z+kiki_platas_tattoo_artist+working.jpeg.jpgTrue

Adrian Castrejon is better known as Spider to his friends, customers, and his fellow artist. At a young age, Spider taught himself how to draw. His older brother who drew a lot of pencil sketches of faces and comics, influenced Spider so much that he started to do lifelike sketches of faces, eyeballs and lips. Spider spent countless hours perfecting his skills after school and during the weekends. At the age of 20, while Spider walked home from work, he saw Elizer airbrushing a mural on a lowrider and from there he was hooked on that form of artwork. After watching Elizer for a few months, Spider decided to purchase an airbrush kit. Soon he started to airbrush many car club cars in Orange County, California. After working a few years in different shops, one day he saw his homeboy with a new tattoo and was amazed by the reality of it. At that moment Spider knew that he wanted to take his artwork to another level. So he hit up a few tattoo shops where one finally gave him a chance to see how tattooing was done. After learning a few tricks of the trade, he purchased his first tattoo machine and started tattooing at home. After building his tattoo portfolio, he hooked up with Steve Soto from Goodfellas Tattoo and started working with him full time. Now Spider keeps busy by doing custom tattoo work on his clients and collectors from around the world. If you would like to check out more of his work or make an appointment to get inked, hit him up at www.myspace.com/spidersart or call Goodfellas Tattoo in the city of Orange at 714-637-8282.

Born in Hidalgo, Estado de Mexico, Alan Padilla moved to the United States to join his dad and his sister in the City of Commerce, California. Alan started drawing when he was a young man. He acquired his talent from his mom who was a painter and his dad who worked as an architect. Alan was encouraged by one of his neighbors to start tattooing. His neighbor helped him purchase a tattoo machine and Alan started tattooing in his neighborhood. He soon started working at various tattoo shops and perfected his craft. Alan's success was built with hard work and practice. Now, Alan's tattoo art is some of the best from Cali and he has many collectors stopping at his shop to get tattooed. Alan's shop, Ink Addicts, is located in San Pedro, California. The shop is fixed up like a gallery with artwork from artists known worldwide. When Alan is not tattooing or painting on canvas, he draws on seashells. Alan learned to use the seashell's contours, pits, spikes and lines to bring his drawings to life and give them a three-dimensional effect.

Fleshart
The evening started with a stretch limo parked in front of Canvas LA gallery located in Hollywood. The gallery is known for hosting tattoo related themes. The gallery was adorned with masterpieces. The first room displayed the collection of The Namakubi (drawings of severed heads) that were drawn by Horiyoshi III using Sumi ink and blood from his dialysis. The second part of the gallery housed over 30 original drawings of Heroes of the Suikoden. The gallery also had walking masterpieces that were on display on a stage and were later seen walking around the gallery and taking pictures with the spectators. At the far end of the gallery, Horiyoshi III's son Kazu was tattooing while his fans watched him work his magic. The gallery also featured the new Horiyoshi III clothing line founded by Steve Suk. Horiyoshi would like to thank all the people that attended and supported the event. For more info, visit www.horiyoshi-thethird.com.

When it comes to black and gray tattoos there are thousands of practitioners but only a handful who could ever be considered teachers--let alone masters of the art. In the same breath, the hype of television has given a false sense of award to those who might be great at their craft, but nothing comes close to the pioneers who helped construct the industry that has given them their fame. While the aforementioned statement doesn't take away or discredit those who have cashed in on the fame, the bottom line is that behind any industry, great powerhouse, or large corporation, is the minence grise who has put forth the money, the dedication, and the sweat to help create a brand or industry that is now bejeweled in the eyes of mainstream America.

Pedro Alvarez's style of artwork is known worldwide as Neoazteca. Neoazteca is a mixture of modern art and the pre-Hispanic culture. Pedro creates his artwork by following the specific rules of the pre-Hispanic people of Mexico. The end product of his artwork joins the human spirit with the universe where they become one in harmony. Pedro's creations join different worlds of art, his paintings show the way bodies have been modified and tattooed since the beginning of man, and his tattoo work is collected from people all over the world. We asked Pedro a few questions about his style of work and his beliefs of the pre-Hispanic culture and this is what he had to say.

Texas born and Texas made, David Ibarra is better known to his homies and clients by the name of "Bigg Shadow." Shadow is well known for his ability to take on any project in any type of medium from airbrushing to tattooing and window etching. We met Shadow a few years back and were blown away by his murals that portrayed the streets and the Chicano culture. Shadow's able to show us the beauty of the hood and where he came from by sharing his skills, mostly in the rolling canvases of the award-winning lowrider cars that travel around the nation.inline_mediumwraptextright26730790/featuredartists/lrap_0809_bigg_shadow_david_ibarralrap_0809_03+david_bigg_shadow_ibarra+tools_of_the_trade.jpgTrue

Krazy Kay was born and raised in Shizuoka, Japan, where he's the owner of Lowrider Tattoo Japan. Kay has been tattooing for a few years and has some special awards under his belt, including Best Black and Gray, and Best Back Piece at the Los Angeles Tattoo Convention. Kay's travels to the States have given him the chance to get tattooed by such artists as Pint, Jose Lopez and Mark Mohoney, who's in charge of the face skull tattoo that adorns his right side. Kay's Chicano style of tattooing has earned him respect as well as lots of clients in Japan. Besides his knowledge of tattoos, Kay's also a great sketch artist and does well with oil paints. If you want to see more of Kay's work, visit his website at www.myspace.com/lowridertattoo.

Born in Durango, Mexico, Goethe Silva Mier is better known in the tattoo industry by just his first name Goethe. His tattoos are rich in culture and history, and full of passion. His passion for the prehispanic culture, especially the Maya and the Aztec civilizations, is evident in his work. Goethe's tattoos are not just flesh art masterpieces that adorn the bodies of thousands of people, they are a way for him to teach the world about culture and history with every piece he creates. Some of his pieces portray the beauty of Xochipilli, the Aztec god of flowers, and some disturbing scenarios like of the unknown world of Mictlantecuhtli, the lord of the underworld.

Leobarda "Lucky Hell Cat" Grijalva was born andraised in Whittier, California. She's been doing artsince she was a little girl, and as she got older she started to attend car shows. She was at the Blessing of the Cars and drew inspiration from the artwork that she saw on the vehicles. Leobarda's accessories consist of custom hand-made pieces that can be identified as "low brow art." Her work includes a few hand-painted sculptures, like the Elvis head and the praying hands.

A New Vision Of Painting The Border Towns Of Mexico For All To Enjoy.Gregg Stone is an award-winning professional artist who exhibits internationally. he was born in los Angeles, california, in 1952, a 10th generation californian. his Mexican heritage reflects and inspires his work. Gregg's college education consists of an associate arts degree from orange coast college and bachelor of Arts degree from Art center college of design in los Angeles. Angeles. Following graduation, he worked as a freelance illustrator for various los Angeles publications.

So we hit up Melt Gallery located in the Meltdown Comics store in the heart of Hollywood, California, where we met up with Galo "Make" Canote. Make's a legendary L.a.-born graffiti artist who has gained international recognition and acclaim. He's known for successfully coordinating art shows and exhibits.

Which consists of himself, "Humo" and "Mibe." Tekpatl means "perdanal" or "strong as a rock." They took the name from a novel called Tlacaele written by the great writer Antonio Velasco Pina. The character "Tekpatl" was the best artist within the Aztecs, but was not recognized by other artists due to their fear of what he was capable of creating and was banished.

Reynaldo Alegandro Martinez Mojica AKA "El Peque" started his crew, VRS ("Verdadera Realidad Social"), back in the day while growing up in the street of Rivera in the barrio of Las Juntas in the city of Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Mexico. Peque ("little") got his name for obvious reasons, being the youngest of 13 children. His brother, who now lives in Los Angeles, California, gave him that name and it's stuck with him.

Ivan J. "Chocky" Figueroa is a tapatio from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, who's mixing his culture with the cartoonist style of tattooing, calling it "Comic Mexicano." Chocky's attraction to tattoos began back in '92 when he lived in Tijuana. His inspiration to start tattooing came from the homies who had their bodies tattooed and the various tattoo magazines that he used to flip through. Chocky was amazed by the quality of the tattoos that he saw, and he soon picked up a homemade tattoo gun and started to do tattoos and sharpen his skills.