ABOUT

Paco Dietz first opened Graven Image Tattoo in Redwood City in 1993 and through the studio and Paco's direction many well-known tattoo artists have sprung.  During the last two decades of his career Paco's signature style has grown and changed into what it is today.  His clients have membership to a select group of people that are instantly recognizable by the dynamic and unique body art that they wear.  His tattoos fascinate and disturb the senses and have a depth that isn't easily found in the tattoo art community.  

Paco's oil painting career began in 2002 when he found a master painter named Rebecca Alzofon.  Under her guidance he studied the techniques of the old masters of oil painting like Velazquez, Bouguereau, Turner and Rembrandt.  His contemporary influences include Z. Beksinski, Francis Bacon, and H.R. Giger to name a few.  

Paco believes that paintings can only be fully experienced in person and in 2010 began what will undoubtedly be a lifelong journey to experience as many of the worlds paintings as possible.  He has traveled to Italy, Spain, England, Poland, Switzerland, France, and the Netherlands.  Going to these places made him realize that he needs to expand the worlds awareness of art and to that end he has opened this new studio in Santa Clara.  With the collection here his goal is to bring the focus back to art.

Paco believes that when you view a painting in a book or on a computer screen you lose a large part of what the artist originally intended for you to experience.  You don't see how the light interacts with the the texture of the canvas, or how light is reflected back through the layers of oil paint.  The visually imposing size of a painting is also lost.