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Peña was born
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Enrolled in the art program at Texas A&I University in Kingsville in the 1963s.
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The South Texan student newspaper reports Pena winning the design contest for the Javelina battle flag that was adopted in the fall of 1965 and is still used today.
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He received his bachelor’s degree in art and was recognized as one of the outstanding students at the university in 1965.
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Peña returned to Texas A&I in1969 to pursue a master’s degree in art and education. While he was in graduate school, Peña’s art careertook a serious turn. By the 1970s, he became involved in the Chicano movement in which he devoted his artistic abilities to the cause. His paintingss captured the plight of Mexicans and Mexican Americans, with many of the images depicting harsh reality.
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Peña returned to Kingsville as a graduate student and received his master's in art and education
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Peña moved to Crystal City to head a new art department
in the art school there. -
After two years in Crystal City, he moved to Austin, where he taught for seven years sharing is artisic skills with the students. He shared with them his paintings that represted the Latino/Chicano movement.
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In 1980 Peña left the teaching field to pursue art full-time. Although his parents discouraged his leaving a steady job for a risky one, Peña knew that he could survive on his talent. Now he made a trip to New Mexico. This trip helped mold Peña’s identity as an artist. He was intrigued by the lively mix of Native American and European cultures that he saw in New Mexico of which he saw as being relevant to his own heritage.
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Since 1985, Amado Pena Jr. has opened his own gallery show casing the history of Mexicans.
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Currently, he has this studio and it can be visited today in Georgetown, Texas.
