PROFILE – RICARDO SÁNCHEZ CORONA

Architect turns Artist

“Watercolor has meant for me the ideal medium to express what the spirit cannot do through words.” – Ricardo Sánchez.

Ricardo Sánchez is living his dream! I met him at the recent Ajijic Artwalkers 2026, saw his work and predicted great things for him. Born April 18th, 1992, in Milpa Alta to an Otomi mother and Mazahua father, he grew up with his two brothers assisting the family in farming medicinal herbs and ornamental plants in the chinampas (Aztec agricultural islands of Xochimilco, south of Mexico City).

As a child, his drawings and paintings showed early talent, which gained him entrance into a school for the gifted where subjects taught included Latin, Greek, astronomy, and painting.

His parents expected him to graduate in something “serious” at university, so he chose architecture, allowing him to study drawing, geometry and drafting. Although he worked hard at his courses, his escape was being a teaching assistant for the watercolor professor.

The five-year architecture program at UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico) stretched into seven. Ricardo struggled to manage the demanding course load while commuting six hours a day between home, the university, and his job as a draftsman. He stayed with the firm for six years to help pay his way through college.

The first year or two at university was exciting but then began the tedium of learning the administrative and business side of architecture. It was a troubled time, from which Ricardo distracted himself by studying photography. These studies opened the door to understanding composition, light, shadow, and balance.

A chance meeting in Mexico City brought Ricardo’s now life-long partner, Andy Friend, into his life. Having just graduated, the two of them took a trip to Baja California where they were caught by Covid lockdowns. With not much to do, Ricardo pulled out his traveling box of eight watercolors and sat on the sidewalk sketching and painting. The locals and expats of the village of Mulegé asked to buy his pictures and soon he was commissioned to paint murals.

With the encouragement of Andy, a businessman, Ricardo pointed his feet in a new direction and his life as an artist began. The years of conflict, when he’d fought with the prospect of being stuck in a cubicle as an architect’s draftsman fell away and the world of watercolor opened before him. Now he could dare to follow his true calling and claim to be an artist.

Ricardo loves teaching all ages, especially children, whom he describes as open, curious, and observant. This July was the third year he volunteered for the Lake Chapala Children’s Summer Arts Camp, where he taught a week-long advanced watercolor class to older children. He continues to offer workshops across Mexico: in March at Galeria Dante in Puerto Vallarta where his work is currently on display. In December, January, and March he will give six intensive workshops in drawing and watercolor at LCS and in Puerto Vallarta. (Refer to LCS website).

When Ricardo tells his story, the joy of having found his way from architect to artist comes bubbling out in almost perfect English, a language he learned only a few years ago. As an emerging artist, he enters his work in fairs and competitions, is winning awards, and his latest recognition was an invitation to Bologna, Italy in April 2026 to participate in the Fabriano watercolor summit. For this first visit to the European continent, he studied Italian. Exposed to international artists, he was impressed by those from Japan and India.

Open to grow, he sets himself new challenges, recently adding realism to his superb paintings of architecture and nature, exemplified in his vibrant and dynamic annual collection of Dia de los Muertos themed paintings. The latest collection will be unveiled at Galeria Dante on October 30th. His work has also been displayed twice at the National Watercolor Museum, in two Rios De Color expositions, and at the La Paz Cultural Center in BCS.

Since 2020, he has traveled throughout Mexico, successfully combining his passion for watercolor with his skills in architecture and his love of Mexican culture and traditions, receiving honors and recognition in solo and joint exhibitions. He is a proud member of the Lake Chapala Fine Artists Guild.

Ricardo and Andy have made their home in Roca Azul, a semi-rural place just beyond Jocotepec, spacious with lots of light for an artist’s studio. You can learn more about and view his work at www.ricardosanchez.art.