Chicano Artist Mathew Hurtado from Hesperia, California has made these hyper-realistic paintings featuring iconic Lotería cards.
"I love where I come from and I love my people," Hurtado tells BuzzFeed. "At one point in my career, I was kind of lost and didn't know what to paint..."
"...so I asked a friend and he told me, 'Paint what you love,' and I love my culture."
In 2015, Hurtado had a solo show at Marcas Gallery in Santa Ana, California, called Intima Introitum, where he showcased a series of paintings featuring Lotería cards.
"I grew up always seeing Lotería cards, everyone playing it and drinking and having a good time. I just have really good memories of it."
"I wanted to make them look a little old and weathered. I want to give people a certain feeling when they see them if that makes sense? Maybe like a nostalgic feeling."
"Each painting also had to do with some personal things that had happened within the last year."
"Each one has a story and gives you a little insight into my life."
"Most of the time I'm trying to tell a story more than a message and hopefully people can relate to that story or create their own from it."
"I have gotten some negative comments about one painting I did from the Lotería card series and that was the one with the 'La Puta' card. They took like I was being a chauvinist but its nothing like that."
According to Hurtado, he uses a variety of oil paints. Smaller paintings could take anywhere from 10-30 hours while larger ones could take up to 100 hours to complete.
Hurtado is currently doing tattoos at the Black Anchor Collective in Hesperia, California. You can buy his artwork via his Instagram or email Mathew at mathewhurtado@gmail.com.
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