Biography
Born in 1948, in Los Angeles, California, Ramona Lofton Wright’s earliest memories are of sitting at her mother’s feet watching and singing as her mother tapped on the pedals of the piano while playing Mozart, Chopin or boogie-woogie. Ramona recalls delicate, miniature porcelain slippers her mother fired in a red brick kiln located in the basement of the family home in Prescott,
Arizona (her family’s homestead since the late 1800’s).
Ramona’s love of painting began over five decades ago in kindergarten.
The instructor gave the students an assignment to paint a picture of a large bowl of fruit situated in the middle of the classroom. Ramona watched the other children, and observed that their grapes were small and beady, their bananas were skinny and shriveled, and their apples did not look very appetizing. She set her goal. She painted big, juicy, purple grapes; fat, shiny, yellow bananas; deep ruby red apples and plump happy oranges. Her entire worksheet overflowed with ripe, succulent fruit. The teacher walked among the students offering critique and encouragement, she stopped at Ramona’s painting. With a twinkle in her eye she exclaimed, “Ramona, this fruit looks good enough to eat!” She accomplished her immediate goal and to this day, approaches her painting with that same childhood desire to bring something tantalizing, delicious and beautiful from her palette to the table of her canvas for all to enjoy.
Drawing on personal experience and a diverse family heritage, it is Ramona’s desire to translate her passion for life—a gift she inherited from her mother, Love
Jordan Valadez —into her paintings. As a youngster, her mother noticed her talent and took her to many art classes. In elementary school, she played marbles in exchange for paper so she could draw. She never had enough paper. Her first painting of any note was an oil of a Kachina doll. She won 1st prize at the
Los Angeles
State Fair, what an excited day that was for the whole family. In Jr. High School, her oil of a Clipper Ship hangs in the Main Hall. She drew pictures of horses and pencil sketches of students for lunch money. She learned a critical lesson when she drew a picture of a young person with an extremely large nose. Everyone said the rendering looked just like her but the student would not pay the dollar because her nose was too long. Needless to say, she went hungry that day. She studied at
Scottsdale
Community College under
David Sylar and
Dyer in the 80’s. The family structure changed, necessitating that she take a secular job. For 20 years, she worked at
Arizona Public Service. She retired when her mother became ill with cancer. She and her sisters took care of their mother in her home until their mother passed away. Ramona received all her mother’s art supplies, books, easels and paint. She picked up the brush again and knew she would never put it down again.
Ramona’s preferred mediums are watercolor, pastels and acrylics. She belongs to The Carver Museum and Cultural Center, The Shemer Museum, The Consortium of Black Artist and Others (COBA) and The Arizona Black Artist Association (ABC’s). Her work toured in the 2006 Vibes of the City Exhibition in Arizona and presently has been seen at Shemer Art Center and Museum in Scottsdale,
Arizona . Ramona’s work has appeared on the cover of the Downtown Phoenix Magazine and at the Arizona Public Service Gallery, at South Mountain Community College, at the City of Phoenix Museum and the Annual APS Retirement Convention. Ramona is preparing a solo exhibition of her work for March 31, 2007 in Scottsdale,
Arizona . All Ramona’s work is registered with the National Fine Art Institute and ownership is transferred at the time of purchase.
Ramona lives with her husband of 24 years, Joseph Wright, and paints from her studio, “Fine Art Done Wright”, in
Phoenix Arizona . You may look at her work online at www.fineartdonewright.com. Ramona and Joseph have 12 children between them and 12 grandchildren.
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