Pancreatic cancer survivor, acclaimed artist and Wings of Hope supporter Arturo Garcia, an Ajijic native now living in Denver, Colorado, recently donated two paintings to the University of Colorado Hospital. His donation was an expression of his gratitude for the care he received at UCH almost three years ago.
“I contacted the hospital to offer to donate the paintings over a year a
go,” Garcia says. “After all, they saved my life there. Months went by and I didn’t hear back from them. Then just when I thought they had rejected the paintings, I received an email from the hospital authorities telling me they were accepting my donation and hoped to hang them after the holidays.”
During his recovery from surgery for pancreatic cancer, Garcia turned to his passion for painting, believing at the time that the first two pieces he finished would be his last. It was his strong faith, courage and what he often refers to as the gift of a second chance at life that helped him survive.
On one “horrible” night, after three consecutive nights of high fevers, Garcia remembers opening his eyes and seeing a small shadow near his bed. “As the shadow took form, I could see my wife’s head resting on the wall. I said, ‘Momma, what´s going on?’ I´d be lying if I told you I wasn´t scared. After one of those moments I’d suddenly be shaking and surrounded by nurses and then I’d plunge into another blackout.”
Garcia is open about some of the other life-threatening moments of his life in the throes of alcohol, drugs, depression and anguish, but this overtly physical threat changed him in a way that the addictions and despair hadn’t.
“Looking back to that time of my life, all I can think is the only reason I didn´t die was because God had a plan for me. It wouldn´t make sense otherwise.
“Now, every morning I get up ready to work on whatever that plan is, anxious to go forward. Perhaps being skid sick gave me a psychic change. Perhaps it is true that the outside is a projection of the inside. One thing I know for certain is that I feel inner peace. And that´s something I wanted so bad for so long.”
Once a realtor, Garcia has done amazingly well in a dozen other careers. His best efforts, of course, have been in the creative fields. While he was building his confidence and avidly getting his own words down on paper, he helped others produce and publish books (his own books, some about Lake Chapala, are available on Amazon.com).
“Broken: The Forgotten Children of Immigration,” the book written in late 2014 by Garcia and German Gonzalez and edited by Garcia, has garnered a great deal of interest. As a result of this book Garcia has appeared on a number of Denver television programs about immigration, and was called to appear in Washington, D.C. during the 2015 hearings regarding the deportation of immigrant families.
Today, the man from the village of painters is himself a painter making a name for himself as a full-time artist in Denver. In addition to the Colorado wild animal series represented by his first two pieces, the big horn sheep and the buffalo, he painted a group of African wild animals and dozens of vivid individual pieces. A new, just completed series features trees, symbols of life.
His best known series in the Denver area is his traveling exhibit, a complete set of 24 x 30” paintings of the presidents of the United States. They’re hung in schools, libraries and galleries. It was just a year ago that the series opened at the Eloise May Library in Denver – a proud moment for Garcia.
Garcia’s work is often presented at Wings of Hope charity events, where he has garnered a loyal following. (To view and purchase his artwork visit arturogarciafineart.com.)
The two paintings Garcia donated to the hospital will be displayed at the Anschutz Cancer Pavilion. “I just feel so honored and very humbled to think that my work will hang in this building,” he says.
Garcia hopes the images of strong native animals will give patients hope and boost the spirits of those who are caring for them.