The South Texas landscape holds endless inspiration for the realist painter Noe Perez. He frequently captures such scenes as old country roads, commanding oaks, Texas longhorns, blooming cacti, and fields of bluebonnets, each referencing quintessential Texas living. Perez is adept at capturing the beauty and essence of South Texas, from Corpus Christi to the Rio Grande. He works in colors that are equally muted and vibrant, creating balanced canvases where nature opens up to allow the viewer to walk within it. Here, in Prickly Pear Pathways, Perez captures the Texas landscape and its foliage, centering a strong oak tree on a blue summer’s day, and surrounded by blooming cacti. A quiet dirt path in the foreground leads the viewer through the cacti, past the oak, and into the far trees and brush. Perez paints in his home studio, frequently working from photographs and his own plein air studies. The artist states, “I believe that plein air painting is an essential exercise for any landscape painter. I try to paint outdoors whenever I have the chance.” Perez cites the Impressionist painter William Merritt Chase as an influence as well as the early Texas Impressionist Juilian Onderdonk and the early Texas landscape painter Porfirio Salinas. The artist says, “Most of my spare time is spent painting, planning new paintings, or reading about art. I enjoy many types of art, but Texas art is the closest to my heart.” 

Born and raised in Falfurrias, Texas, Perez currently lives in Corpus Christi. Perez majored in engineering in college, earning his Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering at Texas A&I University (part of the Texas A&M System) in Kingsville, Texas. Perez currently works as a structural engineer within a consulting firm in Corpus Christi. Successfully painting and exhibiting for decades, the artist has participated in the Night of Artists Art Show and Dinner for the benefit of the Briscoe Western Art Museum in 2006, 2007, and 2008. His paintings have been accepted in the annual Salon International show hosted by Greenhouse Gallery in San Antonio in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. His artwork is included in the books Texas Traditions (2010), Of Texas Rivers & Texas Art (2017), and King Ranch: A Legacy in Art (2021), for which he received a commission from King Ranch to create the painting commemorating the one hundred year anniversary of the historic main house.