Passion Has No Boundaries. Miguel Proves It!
Miguel has had an unpredictable and incredible journey since the beginning. We can’t wait to share with you how he got started with his passion for art and what went into becoming one of the most successful Southwest artists.
Meet The Man Of The Hour
Miguel Angel Camarena was born and raised in the Tarahumara Land in the Sierra Madre of Chihuahua. He moved to Southern California at 13, where he started school. In the first year of junior high, he took art classes, which he enjoyed so much that he greatly excelled in the subject. The school's principal approached him and asked him to design the yearbook cover, which became his first printed illustration.
Soon after that, he was encouraged by his other teachers to get more involved in art classes, but it wasn’t until after high school that an International Production Company approached him. Camarena was asked to illustrate a movie which was the beginning of his career as an illustrator.
Miguel Jump Started His Professional Career
During his early career as an illustrator, Camarena was challenged by more complex projects. At that time, he met a very popular Hollywood movie poster illustrator, Morgan. Morgan recommended him to attend the California Art Institute, specializing in Cinematography illustration.
Camarena began illustration projects with companies such as NBC, T.V. Guide, and Warner Brothers. He also traveled to New York to enroll in the Art Students League. While in New York, he illustrated several book covers, including the new edition “BenHur.” Camarena is responsible for creating hundreds of movie covers for VHS releases. Following his time in Los Angeles, Camarena moved to San Diego where he met the famous European Painter Sebastian Capella from whom he would learn impressionism and classical European painting.
Miguel’s Passion Took A U-Turn
Camarena felt he needed to make a change in his career. He then remembered his early childhood, the people, the traditional fiestas, the ceremonies at Easter time, the traditional customs of the Indians, the dances, and the Tesquino. He remembers vividly the people playing the fiddle, the ladies dancing to the flute rhythms, the men proudly celebrating by playing the drums, how they enjoyed Tesquino and danced all night.
He still feels the drums in the beat of his heart. Camarena returned to the Tarahumara Land and started his career as a fine art artist. He created a full collection of paintings featuring the Tarahumara people many of which would later be featured in cultural museums.
After spending much time in Arizona he decided to move there full time and open up his own fine art gallery. Featuring cultural paintings inspired from his past as well as desert landscapes presenting the beauty of his new environment.
His Initiative To Introduce Giclee Prints
When Miguel Camarena’s paintings swiftly became the talk of town, especially his now world famous “Donkey Collection”, the demand for his art exploded. Therefore, Miguel introduced the giclee printing technique in his gallery that if someone wants to own an original design of Miguel Camarena, they can get a quality reproduction of any custom size on canvas.Â
Currently, he has extended his services domain and offers original paintings, fine art prints, wholesale options, corporate and home art curation, as well as home and real estate staging services at his art gallery located in Cave Creek, Arizona. Additionally, Miguel Camarena’s offerings are available online to customers around the world.Â
Miguel’s Dedication Towards Humankind
Camarena enjoys teaching modern contemporary art part-time to disadvantaged youth and sharing his ideas to help them express themselves positively and creatively. Camarena lives in Arizona, where he has his art gallery and continues to paint Arizona landscapes as well as a variety of other subject matter and teach on occasions.