Oscar Lopez: The Construction of Art
Taylor Smith | Arts & Entertainment Editor
SMC Alum, Oscar Lopez, finds inspiration in loved ones and his Oaxacan culture.
By day, Oscar Lopez spends his time working for his dad’s construction company, Wolf Pack Professional Builders. By night, Lopez pulls out his sketch-book where late evenings turn to early mornings.
“When I start sketching on paper, and then transfer onto the canvas, I want to keep painting. I stay up until ten, eleven, twelve just going,” Lopez said. “Even knowing that I have to wake up early the next day.”
Growing up, Lopez drew like any other kid, but it wasn't until high school where he was introduced to street art that the artist felt drawn to painting.
“My friends, we were a really tight group... We would go out and do crazy stuff like that,” Lopez said. “That was kind of my introduction to it. How to use color, what kind of colors go with what in order to stand out.”
It was those same friends that en-couraged the painter to pursue the hobby further, leading him to seek out art classes once he began college. Lopez attended Santa Monica College (SMC) in 2012, and joked about loving school so much that it was difficult to leave it behind, naming Nathan Ota and Mark Trajillo as two of his most inspirational teachers at SMC.
Lopez, holding the paint palette that he uses at his home in Los Angeles. (Akemi Rico | The Corsair)
It was on the Santa Monica campus that Lopez began to focus on figure drawing and experimenting with dif- ferent mediums, starting with char- coal and pencil, then transitioning into oil painting. While he fell in love with the latter, Lopez found oil paint to be impractical while creating in a small apartment. “I really didn’t want the toxic fumes from it,” explained Lopez. “Then Nathan Ota came in, and his class was about acrylic paintings, and how you could still get a smooth transition like oil paintings, but using a watercolor based paint.”
Lopez was not only influenced inside the classroom, but by the murals on campus as well.
“Andrew Hem, he did the mural at SMC right next to the art building in the back,” said the SMC alum. “He was a student there and his work inspires me too.”
Lopez’s art is heavily influenced by his own Oaxacan culture. Oaxaca, Mexico, celebrates color in its lively festivals and brightly painted walls throughout the city. Even the food is not only rich in flavor, but eye-catching as well, being known for their seven different types of vibrant moles. Because of this, the illustrator enjoys playing with saturations, finding himself drawn to warm color tones while also experimenting with neons.
“In the Oaxacan community, they’re not afraid to show color in the dresses, clothes, and festivals they have over there,” said Lopez. “I try to use those colors and involve it with my work.”
Oscar Lopez, LA artist and SMC alum, at his home in Los Angeles, Calif., standing in front of a painting depicting a friend. (Akemi Rico | The Corsair)
Among his favorite subjects to paint are Lopez’s friends and family. When painting them, Lopez uses oranges and browns to enhance their skin color centering his creations around it as the focal point, rather than hide it.
“Our skin color is a big part of us, and it’s a good part of my community, and that’s kind of what I like to show,” Lopez said.
Lopez later transferred to California State University, Long Beach, where the artist received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration in 2018. When it came time for graduation, Lopez saw a clear path to what was next, and be- ing a famous artist was not on the top of his list. Lopez joined his father’s company saying, “He always wanted his kids to join. That was his dream. So, once I graduated, I ended up going there full time.”
To stay motivated while balancing a full time job, Lopez and his girlfriend love visiting local art galleries, including the Superchief Gallery LA where they showcase psychedelic-inspired abstracts and graphic illustrations. “Just from seeing people’s art and what they’re doing just kind of gets those creative juices flowing,” he stated. “My girlfriend’s really into art as well. She follows a lot of shows, and she kind of pushed me back into painting more.”
Lopez is not the only creative per- son in his tight knit family. His four siblings are heavily involved in the arts as well. “My brother, he’s in graphic de- sign too, and my little brother, Andres, he has his own sketchbook now. My sister does a lot of arts and crafts and is into music. The whole family is creative,” shared Lopez.
While working in construction may seem like a far jump from painting, the artist says his day job feeds his imagination in a similar way to painting. Lopez explained that “it’s another form of creating.” Through working for his father, he is able to build and construct, while also solving problems in innovative ways.
However, he said the best part of working for Wolf Pack is being with his family everyday. Art will always be a love and form of expression for Lopez, but he no longer seeks to make it a career. “That was the goal in the beginning, but now I have a full time job, that's nice,” Lopez said. “And I get to see my family still. It’s actually a plus for me. We are very tight.”
