Victor Martinez, El Gorro Azul, watercolor, 27 x 34.5 in. framed (15 x 22 in. unframed) Born in Arequipa, Peru, Victor Martinez had early artistic training with his father, the renowned artist, Victor Martinez Malaga. Martinez began his formal education at the Regional School of Fine Arts Carlos Bacaflor and then moved to Lima, Peru where he took advanced courses at the National Academy of Fine Arts. Following his formal education, he pursued graphic design and illustration but in 1987 turned full-time to fine art. Until his death in 2019, he lived in Southern California returning often to Peru, where he found the models for his signature paintings of peasants with brightly colored clothing.