Rosy Cortez is a 1st generation Mexican-American oil painter & muralist based in Riverside, CA. She studied photography and fine art at Riverside City College and Moreno Valley Community College, and a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from California State University of Long Beach with a concentration in Figurative Painting.

Rosy worked as a commercial photographer before pursuing her dream of being an art full-time artist. Shortly after, she was selected as one of the first Artist-in-Residence with the Latin and Latino Studies Research Center at UC Riverside. She then branched into muralism, after being selected Emerging Artist by Riverside Art Museum to assist on the Park Avenue Storefront Revitalization Project.

Since then, her painting “Work Ethic” has been acquired by The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture. Her story has been highlighted in Altura Credit Unions’ Video Series “Your Story. Voices of Impact”. And has led various mural projects including the first community driven murals in Moreno Valley College and the city of Moreno Valley.

This year, Rosy was a grant recipient as the Individual Artist Fellowship grant and Inland Socal Creative Corps grant, from The California Arts Council.

She is currently a core member of the Eastside Arthouse in Riverside, CA, a co-working art studio, where she continues her involvement in various community based art projects. She is newly appointed Arts commissioner for the city of Moreno Valley to help advocate for public art and programming.