Meet Armando Huerta | Pin-Up Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Armando Huerta and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Armando, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
My mother says that I draw since I was born. I believe in her because she conserves many drawings of me when I was I baby. I start draw nude women since 9 years old, the very first time I own (rob from my uncle) a Playboy magazine. I draw pin-up from 1993 that is the year when I learn to use airbrush.

When I was in school for graphic design, I’ve read many books of other artists, like H.R. Giger, Gil Elvgren and Sorayama, who was famous in the 80s and 90s. I was impressed by their use of airbrush in all their art, which was realistic. So, while aiming for my degree, I taught myself their airbrush techniques as a hobby. It wasn’t something I did seriously. But, then I realized I had 20 to 30 paintings in the house. I gathered them and sent them off to different publishers. And that was that.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
• Do you have any art school teachings or formal training?

I have a university degree in graphic design. I learn color’s theory and the use of the airbrush, but never illustration nor drawing of the human figure. I learn everything of self-taught way. Most of my technique was the result of copy many Sorayama’s paintings. I follow the step-by-step way to make paintings, in the end of Sorayama’s books.

• How long have you been painting?

My mother says that I draw since I was born. I believe in her because she conserves many drawings of me when I was I baby. I start draw nude women since 9 years old, the very first time I own (rob from my uncle) a Playboy magazine. I draw pin-up from 1993 that is the year when I learn to use airbrush.

• Were you interested in art when you were growing up as a kid in Mexico?

In 1977 I was 8 years old. I don’t draw too much in that age. My “principal power” was molding plasticine. I do all the cartoon characters in plasticine. One night my mother take me to the cinema to see one movie called “Star Wars”. When we are out of the cinema I was shook of the emotion. I was seen the most impressive movie in my short life. I arrived at my house running and my mother told me go to sleep, but I did not listen to her.

I take the plasticine and start doing all the movie characters R2-D2, Darth Vader, X-wing, Death Star … I tried to make it fast, I was afraid to forget them all, but I was not quick enough. So in my desperation I uses my “secondary power” and I start to draw. I draw too fast all night. I don’t sleep that night. Star Wars make me the artist who I am now.

• Are you the only artist in your family?

No, my mother knows how to paint also – not professionally, but she does well.

• Why do you choose women as your subjects?

Woman is the most beautiful thing ever created. Not landscapes, not rainbows, not stars, not flowers. Women are more beautiful than anything.

• Who is your favorite woman to paint?

Bettie Page, because she’s the perfect model, she’s funny, aggressive, erotic, vulgar, sweet. She is more beautiful that Marilyn Monroe or any other model. She is a legend, even a myth.

• Who do you admire as an artist?

Hajime Sorayama. Olivia de Berardinis makes me feel admiration. But Sorayama makes me feel fear as an artist. Nobody dead or alive or to be born can draw like Sorayama. He teach me everything, how to do plastic, metal, water, skin, fire. I wish some day be the half of whatever is Hajime Sorayama.

• What’s the hardest part of a woman to paint?

Ears and hands. Hands is the hardest part to draw of the human body. If you could draw good expressive hands, you could draw anything. I hate draw ears. I never do good ears, I don’t know why.

• We hear you live in Mexico City, how do you like it there?

I like the land. I love my Mexico City, the most dangerous place on planet earth. But there is no place for pin-up art here. Everybody likes comics, Japanese manga and pin-up illustration, but there is not a serious publishing company or place you can put your art. I even can’t find the paper what I use for painting.

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THE RICKY CARRALERO ART THEFT INTERVIEW:

• How did you start working for Ricky Carralero?

I sent him a few of my works by mail and asked him for work. I sent him samples of paintings and comics.

• This was when Ricky was working on Double Impact?

Yeah. At that time Double Impact was a total hit. The characters (China and Jazz) and the story were very original.

• What year did you contact him?

I sent samples of my work to four different comic studios, not just Ricky. Ricky answered me 3 days after sending the work and said that my work was very good. All the four companies that I sent samples to answered me and wanted to work with me but I chose Ricky because he was the only one who spoke Spanish.

I started to make Double Impact Raw series. At that time, Ricky was making low sales as he tried to hit the adult manga style market. He asked if I could do manga style hardcore versions of China and Jazz.

• So what was the exact agreement made between you and Ricky?

I signed a contract to Ricky for a year.

• Did he have a minimum requirement?

I had to make 18 pages a month and 2 covers. He didn’t show me any copyright papers but I signed the contract for a year and after that I would work without a contract.

• And after the year was over?

Ricky Carralero never paid me the regular payments he had to pay me each month but I delivered the work.

• So what did you get for your work?

My name appeared in all the comics and all the books and my name was very famous. I was happy without the money and just to have my name in the comics.

• When did the contract expire?

In February 1999. I quit with Ricky Carralero and said “no more work” because I had bills to pay and was making too much income from other graphic design work. So, I quit the dream of making comics and making paintings and start working in graphic design in Mexico as there is too much money. After that, I believe Ricky Carralero lost his house, his wife and everything he have.

I had too much money from working in graphic design in Mexico and decided to start painting again for me with another technique I use which is actually the technique I still use today. I couldn’t use that technique with Ricky Carralero as it takes too much time and too much patience. I made 6 or 7 paintings like this and by the end of ’99 I contacted Ricky Carralero again because I know that he knows everyone in the comic industry and also in the art industry. This time I asked him, because he never returned my art from last time, if he sold any of the paintings. He told me that he sold all of them.

• So, where did the money go?

He told me that he lost it in the business and he had to pay bills.

• Did you agree that the paintings would come back to you?

He told me that he would pay me my percentage for the paintings in the future when things became healthy and I start to work with again but I told him that he had to pay me for the paintings in the past and NEVER sell the original paintings that I will deliver to him in the future AND always put my name beside the painting. I know that he did this in the past so I trust him.

• So when did he start putting HIS name on your paintings? We noticed that he started by painting his name NEXT to yours but eventually he would totally cover your name and paint his on top.

By that time I was very famous in the comic industry and too many fans knew my name. My art was very extreme with lots of buttholes, big tits and big vaginas so everyone was a fan of my art. Nobody else drew like me so I became famous very quickly and Carralero knew that. I believe that he had some kind of strange idea because when I started working with him for the second time at the end of ’99, my work was 50%, or maybe even 100% better than the last work I do for Carralero. So, maybe the people say to Carralero that my work was very awesome and unique and maybe he had some kind of resentment towards me or maybe he can’t support too much compliments for my art so he started the process of making the people believe that he was actually the artist. He maybe think that I never come to America. The people never saw ME at a comic convention so maybe he thought was easy to become “Armando Huerta” and say to the people that he was Armando Huerta and started signing the comics using an alias.

When he contacted [art dealer] Robert Bane for the first time he told me that his name was very famous for the Double Impact comics and that all the things could be better if he sign his name on the paintings. I was very mad when he told me this. He asked me for my permission first to do this but he was already doing it. He knew that if I found out that he was changing the signatures, I would quit working for him right away so he was very afraid of that. He told me that he will not do it but was only asking me. I trusted him because he was my friend.

• You THOUGHT he was your friend.

At that time I was very insecure about that and suspicious.

• So how did you find out that he was painting over your signature?

When I started working with Carralero the second time at the end of ’99. My work in Mexico started to decline and there is no more work and no more money. I had a divorce and I lose all my money and all my things and the only work I had was with Carralero. I have to pay too much money for bills so I work all day for Carralero. This was in the year 2000, where I worked all the time for Carralero because I did not have money in Mexico and this was the only choice I had. He asked me to change the names again in 2001 and by that time I was tired of Carralero because he promised to take me to America and make me famous, and never did.

• Did Ricky ever tell you that he was going to all the conventions in America without you?

Yes, he told me that he was going to conventions and that he knew Robert Bane and Julie Strain and ALWAYS told everyone that I was the artist and promoted my name.

• Did you ask him why he never brought you to these conventions?

I ask him but I believe him because he was like my manager and he have to speak with the people because at that time I don’t speak good English and was afraid to try and speak English because I don’t know nothing about business. The only thing I do is paint and he was my manager and I trust him because he was Latin and he was “my friend”. Of course, I was wrong.

In the middle of 2001, I decided to take my art on my own and make my internet site and start to work on the internet.

• Did you know that Ricky Carralero also had a website?

At that time my webmaster showed me all the truth on the internet. I saw like 50 sites on the internet in many countries with the Ricky Carralero name and my artwork.

• So what were the first thoughts that crossed your mind when you saw Ricky’s site wickedxtreme.com featuring your artwork with his name?

I felt betrayed. I needed to make some kind of revenge so I say to him that I will work on the paintings he asks me to do but I never did the paintings. I make him suffer for a while, like a month, because I know that he was supposed to be me and the people will ask him for the art, and ask him and ask him and of course, it doesn’t appear because I am the artist. So, he has too much troubles and loses too much money and after that, in Christmas of 2001, I told him that I knew the truth 3 months ago and I will start my own website and I will let the world know that I am the artist.

• Was Ricky shocked when you told him?

Ricky was totally shocked. First, he said he did it for me. He told me many lies. Next, he told me that he was obligated to do it because his partner obligated him to do it. Then, the next time, he said that he never knew about it. He said that his partner did all of it, made the website and changed all the names.

• Do you know who his partner was at the time?

He told me that it was John Ulloa.

• When did you find out about the book that Ricky published with your work (“Eye Candy”)?

I knew about that book many months before I saw the website. I saw it in Mexico and I buy it. No, I mean the Modern Graphix books (Art Fantastix). I buy these books and I realize that it has the same art as on the website.

• So your name wasn’t mentioned in the Art Fantastix books?

No. Carralero changed everything. By that time I realized that Carralero was taking the money and the fame for himself.

• Did you ever call or email Ricky Carralero to ask for your percentage of everything he sold using your artwork?

Yes, I asked him about that and he said that he didn’t have the money, that he invested all the money in me and of course, that was lies.

• Now everybody is finding out the truth and the art world is realizing that the true artist is you. What would you like to see happen to Ricky in the future? What would be your ultimate revenge?

The ultimate revenge is now. I think the revenge happened when I finished making my website – betternastythansexy.com – because it is a great website. People around the world have told me that it is the best website ever made for an artist and everybody is giving me compliments for the site, the art, the music and all. So, I know when Carralero saw the site with the new art and new stuff, my revenge was complete for that time. For 2 years he was offering new art to people because I was the artist and people started asking, “What happened? Why don’t you do more art?”. And, when the people start slowly seeing my site and start to know the truth from my side and your side, I know whatever happen to Ricky Carralero is only a matter of time. It will happen anyway.

• So when things started going downhill for Ricky, I noticed that new art started appearing on his site. Do you think that this is actually Ricky’s work or do you think that he is hiring new artists and trying to pull the same thing with them?

I think it’s other artists. I know because I have people emailing me and telling me that they worked for Ricky and never saw any money. After hearing my story, they, too, realize they are one of the many victims of Ricky Carralero.

My mother, my father and all my family are people who always fight for their dreams. My mother is a very, very strong person. I wanted to quit my work, my life and everything after my divorce but even now I suffer for my work. I know the responsibility for the web sites, the responsibility for the people who send me emails and the responsibility for the merchandise I sell through XTREME. I see all that and believe my work has too much future and know that my work is better than the average work. So, I’m not worried about Ricky Carralero’s future or whatever happens to him.

• What do you think about the emails we receive from people who still believe that Ricky Carralero is the artist?

I think it’s friends of Ricky. I think it’s people who have nothing between the two ears. They have no brain. I think Carralero is a sick person and has problems with his mind because he believes that all the world, all the people, are stupid – the galleries, the managers, the publishers, the comic book publishers, the people who buy comics, the people who buy art, regular people and all the people from all the companies he’s fooled. He thinks that they are stupid.

• What do you think the world release of your first book will accomplish?

The book will be the final nail in the coffin for Carralero.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to thank Sandy for flying me to America and helping me to reclaim my name. She was the one who exposed Ricky Carralero’s fraud to the world and told everybody that I am the real artist.

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