I would like to share some insight into how I became a professional artist. It’s a question I am asked often by gallery visitors.
It wasn’t until after I graduated from high school that I decided to pursue an art career. Art is not an easy career to follow. It takes more than talent. It takes a lot of luck, drive and hard work.
The luck I had involved being in the right place at the right time. During my senior year at the University of Texas at El Paso where I received my Bachelor’s Degree of Fine Arts in Fine Art, the El Paso Museum of Art staff came to the UTEP Art Department. They were looking for a couple of artists for one of their projects. Somehow I was asked to meet with the museum staff in the Art Department office. I was asked if I would like to paint murals for the museum AND for money. Of course I accepted.
The next three years I spent painting murals for the El Paso Museum of Art. I met my wife, Marta, while working there. When the contract with the El Paso Museum of Art ended, I found myself with no job and a growing family. But my luck continued. The Director of the Fort Bliss Museums had seen some of my work and wanted me to work for the U.S. Army as a civilian artist. I was hired on as a Museum Exhibit Designer. I worked for the Army for the next 35 years doing what I love to do.
Since retiring from the Army civilian service in 2015, I am now creating my own art work and have opened the Southwestern Art by Bert Saldana gallery in San Elizario, Texas.
Please go through the different galleries on my website and enjoy.