Welcome to the
Efrén González
Children's Art Program
About Efrén González
Efrén González was born in Ajijic, and was a student in the Neill James children's art program in the 1980s. He has since studied with well-known painters, watercolourists, and sculptors. He is now himself an internationally-recognised painter and muralist – particularly in the mediums of acrylic, oil, watercolor, and pastel.
He began his journey to becoming a working artist when he was young – Efrén likes to say, “Art started with a pencil – almost as soon as I could hold it.” He won local and regional drawing contests when he was in primaria (primary school), and now his work is chosen by galleries across North America.
The Children's Art Program
To give back to his community, Efrén created a children's art program several years ago to teach art to local children, and implant in them a passion for art – so that, just maybe, some might follow in his footsteps. His latest program has moved from its roots at his studio/gallery in Ajijic centro to his new museo in west Ajjic. The initial focus is on children from the west-side, who have difficulty attending other local art programs. He now offers weekly free art classes at his Ajijic Museo de Arte, at Privada Flores Magon #3A in Ajijic – all art supplies and materials are provided to the students free of charge. Efrén strongly believes that the children in our community are the future of art in Ajijic!
Children's Art Cards
Selected work created by the children in our art program is scanned, and made into art cards. These high-quality reproductions are sold at various events around town. Half of the proceeds from the sale of each card goes to the young artist who created it – the remainder goes towards art supplies for the classes. Please support our kids!
Upcoming Art Card Sales in the Lakeside Area
Click for a larger version
This sale will take place on Saturday, May 3, 2025 at the
Centro Laguna Mall Art Connection's “Art in the Plaza”
exhibition from 10am to 3pm.
We will have never-before-seen cards on sale at this show, as well as a limited selection of the original art from which these cards were reproduced.
Come out and browse our catalogue of our charming kids' art cards
(you can also see these cards below in our online card gallery).
This is true children's art from young art students aged 5 to 13 years of age – our program does not sell
cards from 19-25 year old “kids”!
Half of all proceeds are paid to the child artist. Please support our kids!
Selected Photos of Our Kids Learning Art
Photos courtesy of Danielle Pagé
A Saturday class with maestro Javier Zaragoza
A young artist at work
Young artist concentrating on her creation
The proud artist showing off her Christmas card
A typical Saturday morning art class
Maestro Javier Zaragoza teaching a young artist
A young artist hard at work
Another young artist proudly displaying his work
Maestro Javier Zaragoza teaching a young artist
A young artist applying details to her art card
Another young artist showing his art card
How to Appreciate Chldren's Art
You cannot compare children's art to art produced by adult professional artists. Unlike other children's art programs with art from "kids" aged 18 to 28, our children are only 7 to 11 years of age. Our art students all have great potential because they have imagination, creativity, and passion. However, they have only just started on their journey towards learning the technical skills needed to fully realise their ideas. That said, their art is charming, and, often, surprising. When you consider children's art in the context of the age of each young artist, you will be amazed at the quality of the vision and composition of someone so young.
Gallery of Children's Art Cards
Below you can view a selection of art cards from Efrén's young artists
Select a category below to see only art of that type
To see cards for special occasions such as Christmas or Valentines, click on the relevant button
Each category of images is initially shown in order of ascending card numbers
Select the “Artist Name” button below to group the images by the young artists' first names instead,
or select the “Newest First” button to display the cards from newest to oldest
Click on any thumbnail image below to view a full-size image
You can close the expanded image by clicking the 'X' on its bottom right