Roseta Santiago

My name is Roseta Santiago. I live and paint every day in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In Asian philosophy there is a process of becoming “new.” This intellectual sensation has been my best ally. While attempting to write about myself here, I find that I have walked many new paths, while always being optimistic of the results. On some of those paths, I managed an employment agency in Washington DC, designed and sold signage and exhibits, started a graphics design company that led to theme restaurant advertising, an advertising and promotion agency and a design/ build career. After that I was recruited to paint life size wildlife murals for 23 Bass Pro stores in 16 states. This earned me the name Paintslinger in New Mexico. Today I realize that these experiences played a major role in this, my final painting “career.”

I was born and raised in the Washington DC area, the eldest among my five siblings. My father was a chef on the aircraft carrier USS Missouri and at the Blair House for Harry Truman while serving in the US Navy for 35 years. He was born in the Philippine Islands to a Spanish father and Filipino mother. My mother was born and raised in Pennsylvania. Her parents were Irish, German and Polish, having fled from Europe because of their ancestry. There is such mystery surrounding our heritage. This may be a clue to my curiosity about subjects and the lineage of the objects I paint. I am fascinated by mystery, illusion and the unknown. My determination and drive came, no doubt, from my dad, who raised his large family based on a third-grade education and hard work.

My son Chris was born in 1967 and we grew up together during the sixties and seventies. Life has been rich in experiences for both of us.

If a biography is an account of someone’s life, then this is my biography. It is brief, a thumbnail sketch if you will, but it encompasses all the experiences that led to my picking up a brush and beginning to paint my paintings. That is what I am here to do.

I never had a “could have /should have” point of view. And I am always willing to make a change to move forward and be positive.

Discovering indigenous people of all races is discovering myself.