Even though I've lived in Tucson my entire life, I had never been to the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun, but I've seen his famous paintings scattered throughout Tucson. My parents even have a few prints hanging in their living room.

I finally took a trip out there a few weeks ago, and it was nothing like I anticipated. I think I expected the typical (and somewhat boring) gallery where you hurriedly walk around looking at paintings hung on plain white walls, then quickly look through a gift shop, and head home. First, DeGrazia's gallery is unique because he built it by HAND with a few of his friends almost half a century ago. He literally made the adobe bricks with desert soil mixed with water that then baked in the hot Arizona sun. Second, rotating exhibitions display some of the 15,000 originals DeGrazia housed at the gallery. We even got to see one New York scene painting that had never before been seen by the public prior to this current exhibition, DeGrazia: 100 Years, 100 Works.

One neat thing about the building is that you enter the gallery through this huge, unique (and quite heavy) iron door, which DeGrazia built as a replica of the Territorial Yuma prison gate. As you begin walking through the gallery, you notice all of the little ways DeGrazia left his mark on the building - various hand prints in the walls, added art carved into the walls by both DeGrazia and his wife (New York sculptor Marion Sheret), and even the flooring itself is unique! DeGrazia used the skeletons of Arizona cacti to create the floor - that in and of itself was one of my favorite pieces of "art" from the entire tour.

The art on display is amazing. It's interesting to look at all of the different ways DeGrazia painted throughout his life. Not one typical piece of art hung in that gallery. Just when you think you've seen all that one man could have created in his life, you move on to another room, and another, and another ...

After seeing all of his great works inside the gallery, our guide took us out to DeGrazia's original home built on the property, which - you guessed it - he built by hand for him and his wife to live in. On the way to the house, you see DeGrazia's art on the outside of the building as well, in the form of sculptures, outdoor murals, and even flowers made out of beer cans! And, of course, we went into his Mission in the Sun, the adobe mission DeGrazia built in honor of Padre Kino and dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe. The paintings on the wall of this open-air building are incredible! Check out the pictures:
 
DeGrazia led such an interesting life, and it's portrayed in all of his beautiful art (which includes the building itself in my eyes!). His gallery is a definite must-see for all of you art lovers.

DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun
6300 N. Swan Road
(520) 299-9191
Admission: FREE!
http://degrazia.org