The Artist
Aydee Lopez Martinez
Aydee is certain that she became an artist the day she arrived in America. She was four years old then, but the stark contrast between her grandparent's home in her beloved Teocal and her new home in Cypress Park, California was never lost on her, despite her young age. Over time, she began viewing her memories of those first years in Mexico as dreams that juxtaposed the reality of a strange and exciting new world in America.
She adapted well to her new surroundings and learned that she had a gift to weave her memories into how she viewed the world through her paintings. Aydee has been painting ever since. She received a Bachelor of Fine Art from California State University at Los Angeles in 1999. Today, she is a full-time artist and teacher working in a variety of mediums from her studio in Covina, California. Her work has been exhibited throughout California, and in Chicago, New York, San Antonio and Mexico.
Collaborations & Publications
In 2012, Aydee gave permission to use her painting "In the Company of Great Spirits" for the cover of the poetry book In the Company of Spirits by Washington D.C. poet Carmen Calatayud. In 2024, a second collaboration with Carmen, This Tangled Body, features Carmen's most recent stunning collection of poems.
Aydee has also collaborated with author and poet Jose Chavez on several children's poetry books including Estrellitas y Nopales (2017) — for which she won three awards from the International Latino Book Awards — and Dancing Fruit, Singing Rivers (2020). She also illustrated the children's book Countdown to the Last Tortilla by late author Maria de la Luz Reyes (2019).
Aydee's work is featured on the cover of Sylvia Mendoza's The Book of Latina Women (2013) and Sarah A. Chavez' poetry book Hands That Break and Scar (2017). Her work has also been published in Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Art: Artists, Works, Culture and Education; Triumph of Our Communities; and Chicano Art for Our Millennium, printed by Arizona State University and The Bilingual Press.
She has been commissioned to create works by such organizations as Harbor UCLA Medical Center; the Downtown Los Angeles Grand Performances; Latina Leadership Network (LLN); California State University Dominguez Hills; and Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina's 1996 Holiday Christmas card.
Collections
Aydee Art Studio & Gallery
Covina, California
Latino art · Latina art · Handmade ceramics · Fine art paintings
Commission a Piece