In a May 28 ceremony at the Texas State Capitol, State Senators and Representatives announced the honorary Texas Artists appointments for 2009 and 2010. Alvarado, who lives and works in San Angelo was selected as the 2009 Texas State Two-Dimensional Artist. Other 2009 honorees include Poet Laureate, Paul Ruffin of Huntsville; 3-Dimensional Artist, Eliseo Garcia of Dallas; and Musician, Willie Nelson of Austin. Each one was selected for the exceptional quality of his work and for an outstanding commitment to the arts in Texas

.The 2010 appointees include Texas State Poet Laureate Karla K. Morton of Denton, Texas State Musician Sara Hickman of Austin, Texas State Two-Dimensional Artist Marc Burckhardt of Austin and Texas State Three-Dimensional Artist John Bennett of Fredericksburg.

"Texas is home to so many talented artists, and this diverse group exemplifies the best of the best," said Texas Commission on the Arts Executive Director Dr. Gary Gibbs. "This honor rewards these talented Texans for their outstanding artistic achievements, and we are proud to have them represent the state."

Alvarado describes his work in terms of his personal visual language.

"I take imagery and combine it with out-of-the-ordinary combinations. I express emotion through color, almost like a narrative. There's so many layers in the painting that you would have to look at a painting several times to see all the information. There's a lot of hidden visual language."

His style developed as a means to communicate. Alvarado said he didn"'t speak English when his family immigrated to a town in Wyoming where his was the only Mexican family.

"The teacher noticed I was drawing a lot. I always remember her because she used art to communicate with me until they got English as a second language teachers. It was like sign language for me. If you look back to those beginning days, I literally developed a language with imagery."

[ remarks from interview with the San Angelo Standard Times upon being appointed 2009 Tx State Artist, June 2009 ]