J. A. Flores

After our walk out in the desert this morning, I drove my little doggie about 15 miles down to the old Spanish Mission town of San Elizario. This used to be the county seat in the middle to late 1800’s.

We parked the car under a nice tree which was across the street from the old jail which Billy The Kid busted his friend out of. Position 31.58605N, -106.27402W http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_the_Kid

There was an art fair being held in the plaza across from the old Mission at San Elizario. I didn’t really intend to buy anything today, but the western paintings of an older artist named J.A. Flores just practically reached out and grabbed me. Juan Flores is 85 years old, and has been an artist all his life. He studied under some of the most famous artists in the southwest. You can immediately see the many years of experience when you view his work.

Mr. Flores was born in Los Angeles, and his family moved to El Paso when he was 10 years old about 75 years ago. He served in the military in WWII and has studied in art schools in Chicago and under some of the most famous southwestern artists, such as the man who created Mount Cristo Rey.

Most of his paintings which were on display today were of magnificent mesas or bluffs like one would normally expect to see in Arizona or New Mexico. His painting of the remarkable Santa Elena Canyon in the Big Bend of Texas was particularly attractive. Anyone who has ridden a raft down the Rio Grande River through Santa Elena would recognize it immediately. The Rio Grande funnels through solid rock walls 1,000 to 1,500 feet high on both sides of the river at this place. Position 29.162321N,-103.622173W http://www.nps.gov/bibe/planyourvisit/secyn.htm

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