Even as a boy living in Costa Rica, Gerardo Valerio-Trigueros put his feelings into drawings. As he grew older, his feelings about saving the wildlife in his beloved rain forests were put into oil paintings of endangered animals and habitats.

There’s a sense of reverence in his demeanor and voice when describing all the wonders and unadulterated natural beauty of the Costa Rican jungles, and sadness as he describes how this environment is being wiped out at a frightening pace as a result of human activity.

“To create consciousness in people’s minds is my priority,” said Valerio-Trigueros, who moved to Cary three years ago. “Many of these animals I’ve painted over the years could disappear at any moment.” Indeed, 25 percent of Costa Rica is part of the rainforest environment that is essential to the health of the planet.

While his work includes still life, portraits and other styles, Valerio-Trigueros’ focus is on hyperrealistic paintings of wildlife he has loved since he was a child. He knows the scientific name, as well as the common name of every creature of the rainforest.

“My father and grandfather brought me to the rain forest when I was a young boy,” he said, adding his grandfather, Manuel Valerio, was a biologist and director of the country’s natural history museum.

Valerio-Trigueros assumed, at an early age, that he was destined to carry on the family tradition of biological discovery and education. But there was no doubt that he also had an artistic gift.

“Contact with nature was my whole life,” he added. “I just started painting animals in the wild — endangered species. Nobody at the time talked about conservation and ecology. I said ‘I don’t care, it’s what I love.’ An artist doesn’t follow any fashion — an artist creates his own fashion.’’ In person, he has a larger-than-life persona, which is reinforced by his strong convictions.

When the Costa Rican government began to commission him to do paintings for the celebration of national parks and to paint posters for other occasions, he began to get serious recognition for his work, winning 35 awards for his art in Costa Rica, one for best of show at the national art museum.

Three Little Brushes, a Little Oil and Some Paint

Until he was 14 years old, Valerio-Trigueros stuck to drawing, with teachers many times asking him to do special art projects for school. At 9 years old, he won his first award for a drawing. It was something, however, that he witnessed after school, which altered his fascination with art: the sight of a man painting by the window of an upstairs apartment.

After finally summoning the courage, Valerio-Trigueros brought the painter some of his drawings. In return, the neighbor gave him a small piece of canvas, three small brushes, some paint and linseed oil, and asked him to paint a picture that was on a tiny postcard he gave him.

“I blended the oil with the paint—it was incredible,’’ Valerio-Trigueros recalled. “I started painting with oil and I never stopped.

”That first painting still hangs in his home, he said.

He’s come a long way from a small postcard. Today, some of Valerio-Trigueros’ paintings — like one of 15 lions — take him more than a year to finish, he noted.

Bringing His Message Stateside

After making a name for himself in Costa Rica, Valerio-Trigueros came to the States to work. He had spent time in Alabama and Oregon when a Chicago attorney who heard about him, expressed interest in buying one of Valerio-Trigueros’ paintings.

The attorney invited him to Chicago, organizing a meeting with a group of interested buyers. “Thirteen pieces were sold,” Valerio-Trigueros said of that first meeting. “People are accepting my art here and it’s incredible.” He has been very well-received by the viewing and buying public, as well as the judges at some very prestigious art shows.

With an offer for him and his family to stay in the area and live in a farmhouse rent-free for a time, the Valerio-Trigueros family moved to Cary three years ago. “When I came to Chicago, I [fell] in love with the city,” he said. “I said, ‘This is a place where I’d like to develop my art.’”

Some people in the area refer to him as the “naked painter,” as he could be seen painting shirtless at an easel in the large picture window of the old farmhouse he rented off of Three Oaks and Silver Lake roads.

His first show in the Chicago area was the 2007 Festival of the Groundhog Art Contest in Woodstock, which he won. He has been winning public affection and artistic recognition ever since.

In the last two years, Valerio-Trigueros has taken major awards in all six shows that he’s appeared in. He is probably proudest of being chosen as the “People’s Choice” artist, because of the rapport he developed with families and their children who were invited to help him as he worked on a canvas during the show.

Last year, he began showing a collection of contemporary pieces that were received with the same recognition as his hyperrealistic collections. This collection is also jungle-inspired as the colors, forms, light and shadow reflects the essence of the jungle experience.

He now has a home and studio off of Jandus Cutoff, down by the Fox River in Cary, where he lives with his family. He recently started teaching art classes there, as well.

Earth Education

Through his art, Valerio-Trigueros hopes to educate and raise awareness about conservation. “Ninety percent of humankind is polluting,” he noted. “We are losing our earth — our planet.”

Schools, he said, need to take a more active role in educating children on environmental issues. He has a special place in his heart for children and their innate curiosity about the world. He is concerned about the current condition of the planet, but optimistic about what can be done for and through future generations.

“We must create more consciousness through education in schools — increase their love for nature,” he said. “The next generation will protect the earth as it needs to be.”

A bit of a showman, Valerio-Trigueros engages his audience with true jungle tales involving real-life encounters with exotic creatures.

Meet the ‘Naked Painter’

Valerio-Trigueros will sell his art in shows this summer, including the Lincolnshire Arts Festival July 11 and 12; the Buffalo Grove Invitational Fine Arts Festival July 18 and 19; and the Port Clinton Square festival in Highland Park August 29 and 30. n

>> For more information about Valerio-Trigueros’ artwork and classes, visit www.gerardovaleriotrigueros.com.