Gerardo Zambrano

Co-Founder, Artist

It was superhero costumes that inspired Gerardo at nine years old to experiment with art. Mimicking the sharp teeth on a helmet and the primary colors of the costumes.

“The kids in class would crowd around me as I drew Iron Man with markers. I guess they were my first audience.” 

Born in Mexico City and raised In Monterey, California, Gerardo’s journey to becoming an artist has not been straightforward. He is a self taught artist who began painting in his late 20’s. However, his love of art began at an earlier age.

At school his art was encouraged by teachers who signed him up for the art academy in high school. But after graduation he pursued a different path.

“Jumping into the workforce after high school. I was consumed by my job and I was at that age where I didn’t know what I would do.”

He continued to take sketch and illustration design classes here and there. However, soon he found himself in a career in electrical distribution handling copper wire, PVC fittings and EMT pipe. Then he unexpectedly went from lifting pipe to holding a paintbrush.

The first medium he used was acrylic paints and then he transitioned to oil paints. It was the blendability that influenced his choice to switch. His method then also evolved. He came across the book Parrish by Coy Ludwig, which led him to experimenting with the glazing technique. It consists of thin translucent linseed oil glazes with varnish layers in between them.

In 2019, Painting became a form of therapy for Gerardo. He painted classical works with reimagined geometrical backgrounds. They featured vibrant colors with a neoclassical figurative style. Further showing his use of painting as therapy, turning  the negative narrative he was hearing about his ethnicity and culture from the political climate at the time into something positive.

In Fact, his paintings strongly rely on the sense of hearing.

“It all starts with music.”

The music puts him in a trance like state were he is able to visualize the finished product. “It is an experience with the music and the paint.” He first sketches his work but before he begins to paint he chooses a song. He listens to this song repeatedly as he paints.

Although he found an outlet in painting and a technique he was passionate about, something was missing. The hours he spent painting were solitary. In search of an artist community he began partnering with the Artbattle organization hosting the first Artbattles in Monterey, CA in 2019. It was at these events that he met other like minded artists, with whom he created La Neta Murals. 

Now he and his mural team have painted 12 murals all together as of 2023.