In "Auto retrato con blue stars," Ortiz creates a self-portrait that playfully employs emblems of South Texas: an over-the-top cowboy hat, a sinuous hissing snake, and even the blue stars themselves, perhaps a nod to the San Antonio Blue Star art complex. Ortiz’s portraiture continues the contemporary painting tradition of abstracted figures, sometimes isolated within geometric structures. Still, the heart of his work remains committed to representing the communities he has spent his career supporting with reverence, care, and a signature Tejano wit.