An Artist Since His Youth

LAGUNA – Alfred Pino began his creative journey at a young age. He was born in Gallup, but raised in Laguna by his grandparents, Juan and Esther Aragon. Later, his mother learned the skill of making pottery and would give him blank pots to practice on. As an only child there were few distractions and Pino spent his time drawing. When his mother made him a seed pot to paint, he painted the traditional way with a yucca brush and paint made from spinach juice and brown rocks.

A friend taught him the basics skills, but the artist is mostly self-taught. He enjoyed drawing as a youth and spent most of his free time practicing. Eventually he discovered that he could sell his drawings and pottery to visiting tourists at the mission and did this for an income. When Pino became a teenager, he was able to earn the money for things he wanted, like concerts, by selling his work to his teachers.

Pino is fortunate to live in such a culturally interesting area. Tourists from around the world visit Laguna Pueblo and shop at the Indian Arts Center on U.S. Hwy 66, and also the St. Joseph Mission at 1 Friar Rd. at the top of the village. He now uses acrylic paints and draws kachinas on canvas to sell to foreign tourists, such as from Austria.

The artist enjoys his craft so much that he will paint almost anything. He has painted delicate light bulbs, and also egg shells. He makes ceramic plates, and hot air balloons out of gourds. His painted earrings are of wood which is also a convenient medium for other projects. Many of his beautiful canvases and painted clay statues have added decoration of turquoise stones.

Pino sometimes enjoys painting his light bulbs in the colors of the Washington Redskins, now called the Washington Commanders. He had been a Redskins fan because of #28 Daryll Green, who was never traded and retired a Redskin. When the team's name was changed, he lost interest.

“The Redskins had a lot of Native American fans who weren’t happy about the change,” said Pino, “and they thought it was a lot about nothing. What about the Patriots? They haven’t changed their name.”

Pino has also painted murals. He is especially fond of a house he painted that is in Albuquerque above Coors Blvd. He had dreamed of painting a wall in that house, and when a construction friend of his turned out to be in touch with the house’s owner and he was looking for a Native artist, he was amazed that his dream was coming true. He recently reconnected with the owner and hopes to paint for him again.

Meanwhile, Pino draws and paints from dawn to sunset. He takes his finished work to the Indian Arts Center or finds interested tourists at the mission. His life is art.