Hector Antonio Escamilla Rivera was born in Piedras Negras, Coahuila Mexico on September 13. As a self taught artist, Hector began his artistic endeavors at the age of 12 with black India and color Higgins Ink drawings of sports and movie stars. At 14 he made posters for local movie houses. John Wayne, Mario Lanza, Ava Gardner and Maria Felix were just a few of his subjects at the time. By the time he was 15, Escamilla -Rivera had painted oil portraits of his college principal and city's mayor. In 1952 he had illustrated for the boxing magazine Clinch in Mexico City.

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Escamilla -Rivera painted less frequently after starting Medical School in 1953 at the University of Mexico. He practiced surgery until retiring in 2012. Since his retirement, he paints professionally again. Painting mostly oils, Hector's subjects are persons he knows and admires and legendary figures and events such as Beryl Markham, Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Rosa Ponselle, Manolete, Juan Belmonte, Joselito, El Cordobes, Porfirio Diaz, Stirling Moss and Racing scenes such as the Targa Florio, Grand Prix Races, etc.

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He became interested in art since childhood seeing and reading the books of his father such as the history of "El Cid", illustrated by Gustave Dore and reading the Spanish enciclopedia Espasa Calpe and seeing the paintings of the great masters Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Dürer, Goya, Diego Rivera, and Dali.

"A lot of preparation is needed before starting any painting, I usually use a number of photographs as reference". 

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Escamilla -Rivera likes to paint realistically as much as possible and he feels the responsibility in try to do a good painting every time, if the painting needs to be changed many times, he would do that until he's satisfied. 

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"Ars longa e vita brevis"as The Romans said, therefore he tries to preserve a moment or a person the best he can. His message is to immortalize or preserve something or someone that, in his mind, is special and deserving of that.

 

"My inspiration is life and beauty".

 

Life is not always beautiful especially in the eyes of most people. Boxing and movie stars was what he mostly painted when young. Also, the Masters of bullfighting "Figuras del Torero", this is a unique profession.

Because youth is so short and the beauty of younger women is so mystic, transient and basically impossible to reproduce, this is at present one of my main fountains of inspiration.