About
Jorge Colorado watercolor painting at his studio in Malvern, Iowa.
biography
Jorge Colorado
b. 1972 Mexico City, Mexico
Jorge Colorado is a visual artist creating paintings that span abstract and contemporary landscape styles, working in watercolor, gouache, oil, and murals. He studied graphic design at the Universidad del Valle de México in Mexico City and later built his own businesses in graphic design, advertising, furniture making and residential painting. Across his artistic career, he has received four Iowa Arts Council grants (2020–2023) and one from The Union for Contemporary Art; had work published in the Annals of Iowa (2021); completed residencies at Waubonsie State Park (2021, 2023) and Whiterock Conservancy (2022); and was selected to live‑paint at the 2021 Celebrate Iowa Gala. In 2023, he was commissioned for a mural, expanding his practice into public art and creating new opportunities for community engagement. Colorado is based in Malvern, Iowa, and exhibits his work in galleries in Omaha, Nebraska, and throughout Iowa.
Artist Statement
My paintings offers viewers a sense of calm, grounding, and emotional rest. Drawing from the landscapes of my heritage in Mexico and Costa Rica and my life in Iowa, I use soothing color palettes and soft brushwork as a visual language to express emotion and atmosphere. Rather than depicting literal places, my paintings are constructed from fragments of memory and lived experience, creating imagined environments that feel familiar and comforting. These memory‑based landscapes invite viewers to reconnect with places that hold meaning for them, supporting emotional well‑being within the pace of everyday life.
By transforming my own meaningful environments into shared visual experiences, I aim to bring serenity, connection, and a sense of belonging into the spaces where my paintings live. This approach aligns with contemporary public‑value trends in landscape art, where contemplative imagery enriches both private and public environments.