There are so many artists and galleries in our little Baja area. I am referring to Rosarito since I am not a frequent traveler to Tijuana or Ensenada. The cost of an original oil painting, unframed, is much less than what you would expect to pay in many other places. Many of the beautiful pieces in my house cost around two hundred and fifty dollars, framed. This does not mean that the quality is not the best. Whenever you find a place with a nice climate, art buyers, and a comparatively inexpensive way of life, you get a lot of very good artists. Some of the artists here can charge upwards of six thousand dollars for a painting.

One of my favorite galleries is Polo Valencia, which is located in front of the Baja Film studios, south of Rosarito. It has two buildings filled with so many beautiful paintings that it almost takes your breath away. He’s charming and will go out of his way to explain your artist to you in an informative way rather than selling. He has been known to discount if someone buys more than one painting, which is great for that person who is just decorating a new home or condo. The galleries have been there for almost 20 years, he himself is a good painter who likes to make fruits that can almost be removed from the canvas. He orders thousands for some of his oil paintings which are done in a three dimensional style and are quite large, approximately three by four feet and generally framed in white. There is a picture frame shop between the two galleries.

Polo learned to paint from Paco García, who has a gallery in front of the Rosarito Beach Hotel, right on the main boulevard. Paco has performed a wide variety of songs over the years and is just as charming as Polo. He has also done many murals over the years. If you walk into our historic Rosarito Beach Hotel, they can point you to some of their murals. He also has a truss shop that seems reasonable enough to me, about twenty dollars for a matted and framed piece of about twelve feet by twelve inches.

A few doors from Paco’s gallery is David Silva’s. David is well known for his depictions of Don Quixote with eyes that follow you around the room. He also makes tango dancers in a large format perfect for that very large empty wall you might have, using a background of what looks like newsprint quite often. His women are realistic and seem to move on the canvas. Part of his gallery is dedicated to MexiFolkArts. Benito Del Aguila owns a business that has expanded to online sales with eBay. His knowledge of museum-quality folk art is extensive. His family helps him traveling through Mexico to find some of the best artists so that he can buy his exquisite pieces and sell them at great prices. I have a piece of ceramic that a well-known Mexican artist from the mainland sold from his private collection to cover medical expenses that cost me only forty dollars. Benito earnestly assured me that he did not have to pay the shipping cost.

The UGI Gallery is between Rosarito and Popotla on the right side of the street to the south. Owned by two very talented artists, Alvaro and Janet. He specialized in large flowers perfect for adorning a wall in a contemporary home. Janet is a master of light and uses it to great advantage in her paintings. It also does wonderful things with texture to bring a painting to life.

ArtFest is coming up on Memorial Day weekend in Rosarito. It is this weekend every year.

So if you are looking to decorate a wall, an office, or a home, this is a great place to go for masterful art that won’t cost you a fortune.