Artist Bio
Tina Ybarra lives a mixed-media life. Born in the urban city of Lynwood, CA, Ybarra attended CSU, Long Beach off and on for several years, eventually earning a degree in General Art. Currently residing in South Gate, CA, Ybarra is a veteran elementary school teacher, a reluctantly-retired softball junkie, a former 3-sport HS coach, and a weekend/spare-time/summer-break artist.
Raised on Motown and Santana, Ybarra is just as likely to glean inspiration from Hip Hop, Rock, or Mozart. She is mesmerized by TV, fascinated by movies, fanatical about books, and enchanted with theatre.
For the most part, Ybarra’s work deals with issues such as hypocrisy, inner-city education, poverty, or gender and race.
In Ybarra’s current work, there is a tendency towards mixed media and an attempt to bring dimension by cutting into and/or attaching objects to the canvas. Still, on occasion, Ybarra will return to basics; to something as comfortable and familiar as the velveteen texture of charcoal on paper.