I've been painting all my life, but until I chose early
retirement in 1989, it was only a hobby. Then it became a full-time avocation,
and soon I began showing and selling my work at Outdoor Art Festivals,
and in several Los Angeles and Palm Springs art galleries
I've spent most of my life in Advertising, Public Relations,
and Marketing. In 1967 I became Vice President and Marketing Director for
a local independant bank. In 1971 I left the bank, and began selling commercial
real estate investments as an independent broker. In 1977 I got lucky and
sold a property where my commission was large enough to fulfill a lifetime
dream to open my own art gallery, Discovery Galleries at ABC Entertainment
Center in Century City. Soon I was also publishing and distributing art
posters. In 1982 I moved my business to Santa Monica, and later opened
a Sergio Bustamente Sculpture Gallery on Main Street in Santa Monica
After leaving the business world in 1989, boredom with
retirement caused me to become a full-time painter. I started out by painting
more traditional landscapes, and then gradually moved into the Southwestern
genre. Later, as the market for Southwestern Art became
overcrowded, I started painting more contemporary abstract work--
some of it non-objective, and some of it figurative.
In 1993 my life-long urge to try new things (which is
probably caused by a pathologically low threshold of boredom) led me to
experiment with three-dimensional wall sculptures. Today they're practically
all I do.
I'm a friendly sort of guy, so if you're interested in
the possibility of a future acquisition and would like to meet me and see
what my work actually looks like up-close, I'd love to have you drop by
my studio for coffee and conversation-- provided you phone me first to
set up an appointment at a time that's convenient for both of us.
