Ricky Armendariz was raised in El Paso, Texas, which borders Las Cruces, New Mexico and Juarez, Mexico.  There he was surrounded by a mix of romanticism for the American landscape and the hybridization of Mexican, American, and indigenous cultures.  Images that have cultural, biographical, and art historical references are carved into the surface of the painting.

Armendariz's most recent body of work explores the violence on the border between the United States of America and Mexico, the escalating drug and gang wars that plague the entire border region.  His work breaks down into two loose categories, love and healing set against the political backdrop of drug violence, border fences, and the communities caught in between.  Text, in the form of original song lyrics, is carved and/or added to the titles to draw further connection to a Western aesthetic and the tradition of Tejano and country music, music laden with themes of unrequited, sentimental love, as well as passionate, explosive love.

Healing is explored through themes associated with traditional healers, curanderos or roadmen.  Roadmen perform blessings, heal the infirm, and even act as marriage counselors for Mexican communities.  Roadmen aid in the healing of the individual as well as a community held hostage by drug violence.  Our border is in dire need of this healing.