Salt Lake City artist Jimmy Lucero, who teaches painting and drawing at the University of Utah and Westminster College was born and raised in Santa Barbara, CA. A naturally gifted artist, Jimmy was studying oil painting from Ivan Webster by the age of 10. While completing his Associate of Arts degree at Santa Barbara City College, Jimmy was heavily influenced by his instructor Manuel Unzueta who encouraged his interest in Mexican Muralists and in figure drawing. During this time, Jimmy volunteered and taught painting at La Casa De La Raza, a center for Hispanic youths. He had no idea that thirty years later, he would be doing similar work with Hispanic youths in Salt Lake City, Utah.

During those thirty years, Jimmy obtained a B.S. in Biology from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, worked in science labs at UC Davis and Stanford University, got married and had two children, Dolan and Ginger. In 1992 Jimmy and his family moved to Salt Lake City, UT. Jimmy obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in June of 2001 at the University of Utah. Upon completion of his MFA in 2003, Jimmy was awarded the Howard Clark Art Scholarship for most outstanding graduate work and has been a full-time professional artist ever since.

Jimmy grew into his present role as a social activist during the 18 months he spent researching immigration issues and producing 16 pieces for his controversial show at Art Access entitled "La Migra" which focused on the plight of undocumented workers, their families, and the construction of the wall between the US and Mexico. Director Ruth Lubbers was quoted saying "I may have been the most provocative show Art Access has hosted to date". He has been invited to speak about his passions for art and social access at numerous forums including Kimball Art Center, "Avant-garde Artists" Culture Bytes, Black Box Theater, and Utah Museum of Fine Arts. He incorporates lectures about diversity in his teaching and introduces students to non-traditional minority and women artists.

Lucero's passion for teaching and communicating his message of diversity and opportunity for social change don't stop when he leaves the university campus. He volunteers every Saturday to run a "Brown Bag" figure drawing session that he makes freely available to his students. He has been heavily involved in the "Bridges Over Barriers" (BOB) mosaic and mural project on the I-15 underpass (NeighborWorks) and was excited to participate in the 337 garage door "Face Off" project with kids from the Mestizo Institute of Culture and Arts (MICA). He has been the featured artist in several shows and recently collaborated with Bad Dog Arts to paint murals for the new Whole Foods Market in Salt Lake City. He plans to continue his public arts projects and is painting several pieces for upcoming exhibits.