Collection: Walfrido Garcia Artist Biography and Art Gallery Collection

Walfrido Garcia was born in 1966 in the Philippines, the son of renowned artist Edgardo F. Garcia. He spent his youth surrounded by art and harbored a life-long dream of becoming a professional artist. Facing difficult times and lack of opportunity, his father left the Philippines for the United States to pursue a better life for himself and his family. Walfrido Garcia and the rest of the family followed him to California in 1972. As a second generation artist, his story begins with his father/mentor. The family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1973 seeking the “American Dream”. Watching his father teach art and paint made Walfrido Garcia eager to follow in his footsteps.

Walfrido Garcia drew everything from airplanes to comic strip characters to develop his hand eye coordination. By the age of 14 his father took him under his wing and taught him all of the Old Masters secrets. Walfrido’s love for painting came hand in hand with his love for surfing. By the time he was 17, he was teaching his own art classes, hanging his art in Carmel galleries and taking art classes full time at Ohlone Jr. College in Fremont, Ca. Walfrido continued his studies in graphic arts at San Jose State University, but in his final year he decided to commit himself to his art. He wanted to be a professional artist, but that would take undivided dedication. Walfrido set an ultimatum for himself: if he couldn’t make it as an artist within six years, he would return to school. In 1987, while on vacation in Hawaii, Walfrido Garcia  found representation by the Livingston art gallery on Oahu. From there his work attracted the attention of local as well as international art buyers. Soon, he was selling paintings as quickly as he produced them.

Walfrido Garcia continued to paint, teach private art lessons and study art at San Jose State University. His paintings eventually caught the eye of Wyland, the worlds leading environmental artist. In 1991, at the age of 23, he was asked to join Wyland's gallery and became the youngest artist to display his art in the Wyland gallery chain. Soon his work was hanging alongside that of world famous artists such as Roy Tabora, James Coleman, and John Pitre. Quickly gathering international attention, he spent the next fifteen years exhibiting his art around the world. Currently, Walfrido spends most of his time in Hawaii and California, where he is constantly inspired by the spectacular seascapes which are the stunning subjects of most of his work. Since then Walfrido’s art has graced the walls of art galleries and collectors home across the United States and abroad.

Walfrido Garcia's style can be described as “Romantic Luminism” in which the subject he portrays goes beyond just imitating a photograph but instead adding a sense of timeless perfection to nature. Each painting starts out as a loose impressionistic idea. As the layers of paint are added the details come out. By the time the highlights are done the painting glows with light reminiscent of the Old Masters. From up close you can see the rhythm of his brush strokes but when you take a step back the eye blends them all into a harmonious tapestry of light, color and texture. Using photographs, videos and painting on site gives Walfrido endless subjects to paint but it is his imagination that unlocks the key to his style. Each painting plays upon the quality of light whether it is a romantic moonlight, a brilliant sunset, the sea caves of Kauai or the awe-inspiring glow of his signature “Lavascapes“. Its as if each canvas is alive with the brilliant light of nature coming from within.

Walfrido Garcia is best known for being a prominent f

igure and ground breaker in seascape art. Besides his traditional seascapes his trailblazing series includes his Koa wood collection, simple seas, surfboard art, fire and fantasy and Disney collaborations. His artwork can be found in the nation’s finest art galleries and most recently Park West, the world’s leading art program across the seven seas. Aside being a full time painter his credits include being t.v. producer of his own art show “Art Made Easy” which has been awarded “Best Art Show” in the islands over the local channels. Walfrido’s greatest sense of accomplishment is being a father of two, a husband and bringing people's spirit closer to the light with his art. With over 40 years of painting experience behind him, Walfrido is considered to be one of the most distinguished seascape artists today.