ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Ruben Franco Jaime was born 1947 in Guadalajara, Mexico. His childhood was spent living at his father's ranch surrounded by and engrossed in the natural world. At a young age, he began to study under master painters and artists involved in the restoration of religious antiquities. He continued his studies in painting landscapes and portraits under the Maestro Gilberto Guerra. During 1991 to 1998, Franco Jaime was the exclusive artist for the world famous Quinta Real Resorts in Mexico and Guatemala. During this prolific period, he completed paintings for five resorts, with each resort containing approximately 150 works of original art. These pieces included both interior and exterior murals, as well as oil on canvas paintings. The subject matter varied among indigenous images, 18th-19th Century Spanish Colonial style images, fruit and floral still life's, and numerous local landscapes.
Presently, Ruben Franco resides in Ojai, California, where he paints many breathtaking impressionistic landscapes of the Ojai Valley, views of Spanish California in the early 19th century, and colorful still life paintings of fruits and flowers. Among the many exhibitions of his work, Ruben's paintings have been shown at Ojai Valley Inn, Gallery Lamar in Ojai, and Canapo Gallery in Carmel, California. His work is also included among the private collections of Anthony Hopkins, Maurice Chase, and Joel MacNeal, as well as the corporate collections of Chevron and Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. Ojai Gallery 353 has commissioned a 12 foot wide by 7 foot high mural oil painting by Mr. Franco of the Ojai Valley, and is delighted to show more of his spectacular landscapes, reminiscent of the work of Albert Bierstadt.