About David
David Villa was born in a small town in Jalisco, Mexico called San Juan Cosalá. Growing up he was an avid soccer player and enjoyed spending time with his friends when he wasn't working in the fields with his family. In 1977 he immigrated to the U.S. and began working in various warehouses, one of which is where he met his future wife, Dolores Villa. David followed her on her path to becoming a Longshoreman in San Pedro, CA and they were married in 1989. Together they became longshoremen and pursued creative endeavors on the side. David was a skilled tole painter and he and his wife would often sell their homemade items at local boutiques and home shows in the early 90's. He has always donated his time and talent to other creative projects for their local church and other ministries.
​
In 2015 David began taking painting classes at a local gallery in downtown San Pedro where he put his artistic talent to canvas and proved to be a masterful fine artist. He began training with Rino Gonzales, a local but world renown artist known for his acute attention to detail both in still life and landscape compositions. David has since developed his own eye for detail in his hyper realistic paintings of the San Pedro Harbor and much more.
After twenty-three years of longshoring on the docks, David retired at the end of 2020 and is pursuing his artistic journey full time. His goal is to share the beauty of the port that he sees so vividly and enrich his community with art that encourages others on their journey.