Oscar Danilo Valverde Gutierrez

Born in 1972: 50 years old

Born in La Ceiba in the Managua province (Departmento).

He started drawing at 7 years old, many different types of drawing, mostly superheroes like Superman and Spiderman were his favorite. His friends would ask him to paint for them in school, and that would get him in trouble, especially in Math classes, which he didn’t enjoy.

He also worked when he was very young and was hired to sell newspapers from house to house. At that time, he met a gentleman called Juan Jose Fajardo. He would always buy a newspaper from him and Oscar would have many conversations with him for hours. He was a painter.

Juan Jose saw Oscar’s interest in painting, so he offered to teach him, but he would have to do errands for him as a payment. Oscar was 12 years old. He taught Oscar how to combine colors and draw. And while selling newspapers and helping Juan Jose, he was able to save enough money, and bought his first watercolors and colored pencils. He used cardboard boxes he found as canvas, and sticks as frames to sell them for 5 cents.

Later, he met a man called Jose Galo, who would end up being his best client, and who helped him during an important time in his life by buying his paintings. Unfortunately, he passed away, and Oscar lost most of his income.

Sometime after that, he went to the city of Managua, and met again with his old friend: Juan Jose, the person who taught him how to paint and draw. They started working together in an art business. Oscar would make the paintings and Juan Jose would finish it with the last details. Unfortunately, it was in the 90’s and Nicaragua was just coming out of a political crisis, so many businesses failed. Juan Jose and Oscar’s business was one of them.

However, he didn’t stop, he kept painting and working with more people, and day by day, he kept perfecting his style. His dedication got him more clients from his town who would buy his paintings. He says that it has been hard to become independent and have his own clientele, but thankfully he was blessed with a good community and good friends who keep buying his art.

One of his friends even met an American who saw one of Oscar’s paintings on his wall, and wanted to buy it, but he didn’t sell it because he felt it was very valuable for him.



He has become well known and even the Mayor from his town hired him to paint signs for the Municipality.

Nowadays, Oscar keeps selling his art to his friends and to foreigners who want to take something special home from Nicaragua. Oscar says, “I can thank my paintings for helping me taking care of my family, including my parents who I could never abandon. Thank God I have met good friends who have helped me by buying my paintings, and believing in my art. I greatly appreciate that. “