We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ramon Ramirez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ramon, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I am fortunate to have a long linage of hard-working people. My immediate family and my ancestors have had a strong work ethic for over a millennia. To be painter, you need a strong work ethic or else nothing gets done. It’s in my blood. My parents are some of the hardest working people I know. My sisters, it’s hard for me to even get a phone call with them. Yeah, I have no choice, my work ethic was passed on to me.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a painter. And that’s a bold statement to make. After many years, it’s exciting for me to finally call myself a painter. For 10 years I worked in the field of architecture and for another 10 years I taught at the college level, but finally, in my early 50s, I’m a painter. I always get asked if I have a day job and I happily smile and reply “nope”. Last year was a good year for my art, and this year is starting out with a bang. I am participating in a group exhibition at the Monterey Museum of Art called “Seeing Chicanx: The Duron Family Collection”. I have one large oil painting in the exhibition and very excited to be included in such an amazing group of artists. I’m also super excited to just be able to paint. I just recently started a 10-foot-long painting and I have a renewed sense of who I am. This year is going to kick ass.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Believe it or not, I’ve always been a good student. I ended up receiving 3 degrees all from the best university in the world: The University of California at Berkeley. Go BEARS!! So looking back, education is what gave me the confidence to push forward in this world. I’ve had to reinvent myself a few times, and each time I didn’t start from scratch. I started from a firm foundation in education. Education is critical to any journey.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
Books are incredibly important to me. I might be the last person on earth to actually buy actual books. Ever since I was in college, I realized that books were forms of communication, of making arguments. And the more you read, the more you learned how to argue or communicate a particular point. And communication is key to any journey/profession. The more you read, the more you see how other people communicate. I just set up my library in my studio and I’m so proud of it. I must have around 700 books…and counting.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jaguarland.com
- Instagram: jaguarland
- Facebook: Ramon Ramirez
- Linkedin: Ramon Ramirez
- Youtube: Ramon Ramirez Artist
