"Peeling the Grief Until the Onion is None" by L. C. Atencio

Westview: A Journal of Western Oklahoma is published semiannually by the Language Arts Department of Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Publications include previously unpublished fiction, poetry, prose poems, drama, nonfiction, book reviews, literary criticism, and artwork.

About the Fine Artist

L. C. Atencio was born in South America into the elite class, among the wealthiest 1% of the population. His household employed three maids on staff at all times, and he frequently visited the mansions of his mother’s friends and acquaintances. Surrounded by fine art and literature from an early age, Atencio pursued his own creative works while growing up. However, as he aged, he found that the government became increasingly oppressive, and his freedom of speech and creative expression felt increasingly shackled.

It was during this period that L. C. Atencio joined his mother in democratic groups, marching in the streets in support of a referendum intended to abolish the dictatorship and restore the people’s ability to elect a new, and hopefully democratic, president. However, this political activism led to L. C. Atencio’s brother’s kidnapping and the subsequent arrival of threatening death letters, which took a significant toll on the family.

Just one week after his brother was rescued from the kidnappers, L. C. Atencio and his family immigrated to the United States of America and found safe haven under refugee status. Approximately twelve years later, Atencio became a U.S. citizen after completing the immigration process, first as a refugee, then as a permanent resident, and finally as a citizen of the United States.

Life in America completely changed Atencio’s circumstances. Much of the wealth he had once enjoyed, tied up in private properties and valuable personal possessions, was vandalized, stolen, or severely depreciated. As a result, he found himself on the edge of homelessness, unable to speak English and without friends in a culture vastly different from the one in which he had been raised.

Slowly and steadily, L. C. Atencio learned English, spent countless hours in libraries, and worked multiple jobs to stay afloat. Eventually, he earned enough money to put himself through college while simultaneously submitting his written works to publishers and his visual works to galleries. Over time, he established a name for himself and ultimately achieved enough success to open L. C. Atencio Studios to the public, where collectors and clients commission him for fine art and other creative services.

L. C. Atencio remains deeply grateful for his studies of the Old Masters. He believes that without their works serving as educational vessels, he may never have been able to return to the level of prosperity he experienced during childhood.

L. C. Atencio is also the founder of Gonzálezism, an art movement dedicated to elevating the ordinary human experience into the sphere of fine art with sincerity, dignity, warmth, and respect. Founded in 1999 and named in honor of his mother, Gonzálezism is rooted in the belief that everyday life possesses extraordinary value, that ordinary people are equally worthy of artistic reverence, and that fine art should celebrate humanity through empathy, equality, emotional honesty, community, and human connection.

L. C. Atencio has received numerous awards, though such recognition has done little to influence his constant desire to diverge from his previous works. He continually experiments with new character voices, explores new materials and mediums, including wood and glass, and refuses to conform to the conventional expectations often associated with contemporary fine art and literature, forging a creative path entirely of his own.

His works are celebrated for their originality, as well as for their bold colors and dynamism, evoking beauty and humanity with every stroke. L. C. Atencio is also known in artistic circles for developing the “Open-Door Theory,” a painting technique focused on the systematic translation of visual imagery from the imagination directly onto the canvas, a method that took years to fully develop and refine.

Overall, L. C. Atencio has earned a reputation as a prolific contemporary fine artist and creative writer of stories, fairy tales, and poetry. He remains on a never-ending quest to create art with the primary goal of finding himself. His authenticity emerges through vulnerability, where his surrender to the unknown commingles with the intellect of reason, producing works that are as strange and compelling as they are original. He has also shared his passion for literature and fine art through his work as an editor of college and university literary and arts journals, including Phoenix magazine (Valencia College), among others.

In his personal time, L. C. Atencio enjoys collecting rare coins and stamps, visiting antique malls, and searching for forgotten treasures at yard sales, auction houses, and abandoned-storage-unit auctions. He also enjoys sculpting in clay and later transforming those creations into metal sculptures through professional casting processes. His ceramic works are often medium-sized and multifunctional in nature.

His favorite season is summer, and when given the choice between the mountains and the beach, he prefers the beach. His hobbies also include creating sculptures from reclaimed materials, professional photography, and taking charcoal and a sketchbook on hikes, where he draws real-life scenes near his home.

Once a dancer for the Walt Disney Company, L. C. Atencio now finds meaning in sharing his love for the arts with the world through both his writings and his fine art.

Style and Influences

Evoking the emotional intensity of mythological storytelling and the timeless atmosphere of classical fine art, L. C. Atencio is an internationally published fine artist and author whose works explore themes of love, mortality, identity, surrealism, symbolism, fantasy, and the enduring mystery surrounding the existence of God. Working primarily in oil, Atencio combines emotionally driven imagery with literary depth, creating original works that seek not merely to decorate a space but to provoke thought, emotion, wonder, and reflection.

Influenced by artists and visionaries such as Gustave Doré, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Pedro León Zapata, and Banksy, as well as literary figures including Hans Christian Andersen, Ernest Hemingway, Michael Crichton, and the great mythological storytellers of the past, Atencio’s artistic philosophy is rooted in originality above all else. If a concept, style, or artistic approach has already been explored by others, Atencio deliberately moves in another direction, constantly searching for visual ideas and emotional experiences he has never encountered before. His works frequently incorporate silhouettes, symbolic forms, surreal compositions, and emotionally charged imagery designed to remain with the viewer long after the experience has ended.

Personal History

Born and raised in South America, Atencio was immersed in the worlds of fine art, literature, and storytelling from early childhood. However, it was at the age of eleven, during a prolonged period of severe illness and isolation, that he began writing and painting seriously. Confined to his childhood bedroom for months while critically ill, separated and quarantined away from friends and family, he turned toward storytelling and visual art as a means of emotional escape and self-exploration. What began during that period evolved into a lifelong artistic pursuit that would later result in internationally published literature and fine artworks exhibited throughout South America, Europe, and the United States.

Artistic Process

Atencio approaches every painting and literary work with extreme patience and meticulous care, always plotting and drafting in depth. Some paintings have taken several months to complete, while certain stories and manuscripts have undergone revision and workshop development over the course of more than a decade before publication. He does not rush his artistic process and believes deeply that audiences deserve works of genuine craftsmanship, emotional sincerity, and lasting quality. Only when a work fully reflects his vision does he consider it complete.

Publications and Academic Background

More than 100 of Atencio’s stories, poems, essays, reviews, and fine artworks have appeared in print in literary journals, anthologies, magazines, and academic publications throughout the United States and internationally. His published works have reached libraries, universities, bookstores, collectors, and readers across numerous countries. Atencio graduated Magna Cum Laude with honors from the University of Central Florida in the field of Arts and Humanities, specializing in creative writing and art. Throughout his academic and artistic career, he received recognition from numerous academic institutions and honor societies while continuing to pursue both literature and fine art simultaneously.

Artistic Philosophy

Atencio’s artistic process is intensely personal and emotionally driven. While his works are not necessarily autobiographical, he believes that fragments of the artist inevitably become embedded within the work itself. Questions concerning beauty, suffering, mythology, memory, human emotion, spiritual uncertainty, transformation, and the tension between darkness and hope frequently emerge throughout his paintings and literary creations. His works often explore the strange and the surreal while remaining deeply human at their emotional core.

Collections and Authenticity

Collectors around the world have acquired Atencio’s fine artworks through galleries, private collections, exhibitions, and directly through L. C. Atencio Studios. Every original work and fine art lithograph is hand-signed by the artist and accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity.

Mission and Legacy

Atencio maintains a deep admiration for literary history and artistic tradition, frequently visiting the Ernest Hemingway Home in Key West, Florida, where he continues to draw inspiration from the enduring relationship between literature, craftsmanship, and artistic discipline. At the same time, he remains committed to pushing beyond convention, refusing to imitate trends or produce emotionally empty decorative work. His mission is to create original works capable of leaving a genuine emotional impact upon the audience.

Gallery Availability

Those interested in experiencing select L. C. Atencio’s fine artworks in person through participating art galleries may contact L. C. Atencio Studios at info@lcatencio.com with their location information for assistance regarding galleries currently exhibiting or holding available artworks nearby.

The Fine Artist

Ultimately, Atencio believes that art should move people. Whether through painting or literature, his goal remains the same: to create meaningful experiences that bring audiences a lasting sense of emotional resonance, wonder, joy, and satisfaction.

Thank you for your interest in the works of L. C. Atencio.