Karina Vazquez

Karina Vazquez is a Mexican-born, self-taught artist based in Long Beach, California, working across contemporary figurative drawing and public art. Her studio practice is rooted in observation and lived experience, using soft pastel and cyanotype to explore memory, identity, perception, and interior states of mind. Her work often develops through fragments, cropped imagery, and symbolic associations that allow meaning to emerge gradually.

Her mural practice responds more directly to place, drawing from local history, environment, and community to create work that feels specific to its surroundings. Across both studio and public work, Vazquez approaches her practice with an emphasis on clarity, subtlety, and sustained engagement.

Her projects include work with Long Beach Walls, Branded Arts, and CASETiFY. She is a recipient of the Los Angeles Lakers “In the Paint” Art Program and has participated in artist residencies with Moniker Foundation in Tulum and Uadombo in Hidalgo, Mexico.