Juan Perez is an artist who sets his own standards. Using light and shadow, he paints as his brush and paint direct him. Perez believes an artist at any level, should paint with a mindset that the artists knows how to paint not that the artist is learning how to paint. "An artist's brush work and use of color should be deliberate and thoughtful" says Perez.

Having virtually no art education background, he is self-driven. As a young man, Perez liked to draw and even painted a few paintings. He took an art class in high school and an art class in junior college. In his early twenties, he married and put art aside for 34 years and worked hard to raise a family, and completed his undergraduate and graduate education, earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Law Degree. Upon his retirement, he wondered if he could still draw and paint. He started painting one day a week. However, paintings were taking too long to complete. Two years ago, he decided to paint every day.

He paints primarily in oils and prefers to paint people. He is driven by the challenge of creating a three-dimensional painting using a blank canvas and several layers of paint. "In art, satisfaction is not defined and it can be very elusive. As elusive as satisfaction can be, an artist should keep striving for it" says Perez.

Today, Perez works at his studio in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, a city that elected him mayor and where he served for four years as mayor.