Johnny Huerta is a Chicano contemporary faith based painter. Born and raised in Venice, California, Johnny grew up in a city that inspires art and creative expression. As a troubled teenager, he was first introduced to painting through a family friend and local Santa Monica artist, Daniel Alonzo, in an effort to instill a passion in him that would keep him out of trouble. After graduating from Santa Monica High School, he attended Otis College of Art and Design. Still lacking a connection with purpose behind the art, he dropped out after one year of study. Following his newfound faith in Christ and a seven year hiatus, he developed a new sense of purpose and motivation to pick up the paintbrush once again. Eventually, through earnest prayer and deep contemplation to understand whether it is his purpose to pursue art, he decided to take the step of faith. He enrolled at Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art (LAAFA) where they would eventually offer him a partial scholarship. Throughout his three year study, he studied painting primarily under mentors Ron Lemen, Ryan Wurmser and his greatest influence Christian artist, Ron Dicianni. During this time, his work has been shown at John Natsoulas Gallery’s “Art of Painting in the 21st Century” exhibition where his portrait of a homeless woman was awarded an honorable mention. Also, his work has been featured in Lighthouse Church Medical Mission’s “Drive to Africa and Art show” fundraiser. Upon his recent graduation from LAAFA in September 2019, Johnny will continue to trust in God on his journey into the unknown, a place all too familiar to many artists. He has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, but he is determined now more than ever before to fulfill his mission of bringing hope, purpose, and identity to the world by displaying the love of Christ through his paintings.