• Photo by Michael Malinski

"Woman with Crown of Flowers," ca. 2006-2008, acrylic on canvas, by David Tineo, is among the works in ¡Viva David Tineo!, at the Tucson Museum of Art, 140 N. Main Ave. From the collection of Donna Al-Ghurab, Tucson, Ariz.

Twenty-five years ago in the Tucson Weekly:

While Tineo sees himself as a teacher, he also sees himself as a life-long student.

"There is so much I don't know yet. Right now I am getting to a point where there's not much more I can show the kids here."

He is contemplating basic educational courses at Pima and plans to eventually get an advanced degree in art education at the University of Arizona so he can teach. Course work all depends on time and money available. "I wasn't born into a rich family," he says with a short laugh.

He also wants to "go back" and learn the art of mural painting from the master muralists of Mexico. The history and tradition of mural painters goes back to the Aztec and Mayan Indians and Tineo feels it is imperative to study the art in Mexico.

"I am at the point where I have to go back, go with some instructor over there … that really has kept up with the traditional methods of mural painting. I need to capture more of that technique and take it with me, apply that knowledge here with my creativity, to organize better mural projects in the United States. That's what we need now," he says.

Tineo's philosophy is simple, but expressed in everything he does: in his art, his work with the kids, his education, his dreams.

"People. The main thing is people," he says. "People working together, united, working as a group. You can't get anything accomplished by yourself."

—From "People Painting on Walls," by Maggy Zanger, March 27-April 2.

A retrospective of Tineo's work is now on display at the Tucson Museum of Art.

You can check out that show (and the ongoing shows featuring work by Andy Warhol and Ed Mell) at the Crush Wine, Food, Art Festival coming up on April 9-10. Details on the fundraiser here.