To honor her father's legacy, engineer becomes artist

WPVI logo
Friday, September 22, 2017
Engineer follows father's footsteps to become artist
A daughter decided to leave her career in aerospace engineering to honor her late father's legacy in the arts.

Rosemary Vasquez Tuthill is the daughter of renowned painter Emigdio Vasquez.

Born in Orange, California, Rosemary grew up in the company of artists, art shows, exhibits, and events. She is an award-winning artist and teacher with a variety of subjects she likes to paint.

Drawing since she was in kindergarten; she worked with a range of media from watercolors to clay sculpture to airbrush as well as oils. To date, she paints human and pet portraits in addition to paying homage to her father's favorite subjects - still-lifes and people from old photos.

Rosemary Vasquez Tuthill says that her late father's easel sits in her own art studio now.

Though that wasn't always the case. Rosemary saw how her father struggled financially and decided to pursue a career in electronics.

"I started in electronics and worked my way up into an engineering position at an aerospace company."

In 2010 when her father's heath began to deteriorate, she began spending more time with him. He taught her the tricks of the trade and after his passing she decided to dedicate herself to honoring his legacy as an artist.

Both Rosemary and her father's art focuses on the experience of Latinos working in agriculture.
Rosemary Vasquez Tuthill

"My father painted for the people, he didn't paint for himself. And that's what I want to do. I want to paint for the public to see."

Today, both her and her father's works can be seen spread throughout murals and art galleries all across Orange County, CA. She hopes that she can continue honoring her father's work by letting her art speak on the Latino experience in the U.S.

"I'm just trying to tell a story about how we (Latinos) are just as much of America as anybody."