Text by Pat Tyson
photos Courtesy of Traveler Publications

Juan Angel Castillo Berthaud is a Baja artist who has been painting breathtaking landscapes of the Baja Peninsula for many years.Originally from Zacatecas, Castillo divides his time between his studio in Ensenada, and his house in Rosarito, where he has lived for much of his life.

Inspired by Baja’s spectacular scenery, his stunning paintings portray the barren waste of the desert; misty, rock-strewn, mountains, and cliff top views of waves pounding the rugged coastline.His acute perception of the contrasting environment that is Baja is captured in his art.Both north and south of the border, art critics consider Castillo to be one of the best Mexican landscape artists of today. Our editor-in-chief is an admirer and has a number of his paintings.

“I’ve been painting mostly landscapes for more than 50 years,” he says.“I work in oils, acrylic and pastels, and have had numerous individual exhibitions in both the United States and Mexico.”

In 2004, twenty-five of his beautiful images were reproduced in a hardcover book published by the Secretary of Tourism of Baja California.The book is used as a promotional piece for the tourism office and is sold in bookstores in Mexico and the U.S.

“When I was commissioned for this work,” says the artist, “I was told that my paintings could be done in any technique or material, and that the specific places they wanted illustrated were the deserts of the Sierra, the Gulf of Mexico, the bays, missions, primitive cave paintings and vistas of the Pacific Ocean.”

Castillo then sought private funding to underwrite the project. Robert and Barbara MacMillan of the MACMILLAN group, a private investment company located in the La Cañada/Flintridge area of Southern California, agreed to purchase the series of paintings. They later presented the images and photographic material to the Office of the Secretary of Tourism.

Castillo’s natural ability to capture the essence of Baja’s beauty has surely made an impact on the peninsula.In January 2007, a second hardcover book was published by the Secretary of Tourism of Baja California as a means to promote Baja and encourage tourists to give in to their curiosity and visit the area.The promotional book is called, “The Landscape of Baja California,” and presents Castillo’s thirty-eight images of Northern Baja.

Castillo continues to work on “The Ecology of Landscape,” which is a powerful portrayal of the interactions of existing life and their natural or developed environment in Baja. The project will comprise urban and natural landscape in the past, present, and the anticipated future to illustrate the transformation of ecology and landscape of the Baja region. The full collection was ultimately presented at the Getty Museum of Art in Los Angeles.Over the decades, the painter has had exhibitions in Cabo San Lucas, Palm Springs, La Jolla and many other California cities. Celebrities like Frank Sinatra, Red Skelton, Ringo Star, Russell Crowe and the tennis pro, Raúl Ramírez, are among those who have purchased his art pieces.

More of Castillo’s creations can be seen at luxurious hotel lobbies across the peninsula. Additionally, the Tijuana Cultural Center houses Castillo’s mural of the Baja region, approximately 10-by-40 feet.