Loren Salazar was born in California in 1951. Graduated with Honors in 1973 from Central Washington State University with a degree in Fine Arts and Sciences. Salazar has painted and exhibited extensively in the western states of Washington, California, and Alaska. His work has been exhibited across the country and his published images are found internationally. His paintings were honed and effected by the end of the turbulent 1960’s. His exploration of art professionally coincided with an explosion of new music and social change. Salazar’s early art paralleled a wave of new progressive rock music and a common direction brought contacts with the music industry and with rock artists. These associations resulted in numerous album covers and music industry designs. By 1977 reproductions and cards of Salazar’s paintings were being distributed on an international basis by a California publisher. His painting technique set him apart as one of the early practitioners of the air brush as a fine art tool. His mastery of that technique resulted in paintings the were included in the Seattle Art Museum’s Northwest Annual Fine Arts Competition. While on display at the Museum his works were singled out b y the Seattle Times for individual praise. These early works were so convincing that his paintings were at times mistaken for photography. NASA Artist, NASA Art Program, Washington D.C. 1992 to present.