Artist Bio
Tina Ybarra lives a mixed-media life. Born in the urban city of Lynwood, CA, Ybarra attended Cal State Univ., Long Beach off and on (mostly off) 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 high school coach (softball, basketball, and volleyball), 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 the TV, fascinated by movies, fanatical about books, and enchanted with theatre.
For the most part, Ybarra’s work deals with issues that are personally relevant such as the hypocrisy of religions, the brutal realities of inner-city education, the relentless despair of poverty, and the inequalities of 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 straightforward and traditional; to something as comfortable and familiar as the velveteen texture of charcoal on paper.