When Jerry Salinas turned 50, his wife gave him an unexpected gift. She knew that after more than 20 years as an illustrator for commercial clients, he was ready for a change. But she also knew that she needed to give him a gentle push in that direction. So, on his birthday, she told him to stop doing commercial work.
That marked the official start of Salinas’ fine art career, a move he had been itching to make since he started illustrating back in the early 2000s. “I started my career in illustration, mainly to earn a living,” he says. “It was a great way to support myself, but the goal was always to become a fine artist—and now, I am.”
Salinas works out of a studio at the home that he shares with his wife Jay Maningo-Salinas in Phoenix, Arizona. Three of the walls are almost entirely windows, which was great when he was working remotely and completed most of his work digitally for a studio in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois.
Read the full article in the January/February 2026 issue.
Blackbird
oil
30″ by 30″
Mariposa
oil
24″ by 48″
