QUIZ DRAW The News Sun MANUEL RUIZ

THE NEWS-SUN
Lake County's Arts & Entertainment Guide
QUICK DRAW
From Highland Park to Barcelona, Manuel Ruiz moves fast forward

MANUEL Ruiz has a theory about his art: "If I do it in slow motion it won't be the same."
So he does it fast — very fast. A painting takes no more than 15 minutes, usually less. It will sell for $10,000 to $100,000 and most of his work is paid for before he touches the paints.

"It's whatever I feel at the time." he said. "I look at the canvas and decide what I will do just before I make that first stroke."

RUIZ DOES everything
fast. He started painting at age 11; was called a genius by the age of 18. He left home when he was 20; became a millionaire before his next birthday. By the age of 28, he had created 20,000 paintings.

He arrived in Chicago in 

1971 at the age of 24, full of energy and expectations. 

"Basically, I wanted to conquer the world with my art," he said. Born in Spain, raised in Argentina, Ruiz had already made a name and a fortune in South America, Europe and the U.S. were next on his list. In Chicago he saw possibilities.

HE RENTED a home in
Lake Forest and within six months opened a gallery in Highland Park and another in Winnetka. 

He planned to make this his headquarters from which he could reach all parts of the U.S.
He developed a technique now popular with other painters, working with a palette knife instead of a brush. He starred in how-to-paint programs on TV, including one for children called "Art for

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