Painting Portraits in a Bankrupt City

I Moved to San Bernardino to Pursue My Ambitions. I Found a Place That Had Lost All Ambition of Its Own.

Early in 2013, I moved to San Bernardino with my girlfriend at the time and our 1-month-old daughter. I had family there but hadn’t lived in San Bernardino since I was 2. I’d spent the past 23 years of my life in Hesperia, a small high desert town near Barstow. The move was driven by my ambition to build a better life: I’d been admitted to the Cal State University, San Bernardino during the prior summer.

My plan was to study studio art and art education. I hoped to launch an …