BIO
Pauline G. Santos
My grandfather Ricardo was an artist who sculpted and made
shoes. I assume that is where I got my talent for painting.
I came to America from the Philippines in 1974 when I was 16
years old. One summer day, my friend in high school, Akiko, invited me to
go for oil painting lessons. My passion for painting and art was born in
a basement in Forest Hills, Queens, New York -- where Ms. Leeds taught me how
to mix linseed oil with paint and all the basics of oil painting.
I worked all my life right after high school until I quit my
last office job in 2000. I worked on many jobs in corporate America, but
I continued to paint after work at night and on weekends. When I was
painting back then, I noticed that my best works of art were those that I
painted unconsciously, or should I say, without being self-conscious. I
would often be amazed at the detailed work on the finished painting. How
did I do that? As if I was just channeling, not working.
I'm now 57 years old. After bouts of mental illness, I've
experienced a new awakening as I’ve matured and recovered. This new
perspective has made me paint more deliberately, conscious of the message I am
imparting in my work. I now create acrylic paintings that cover topics,
such as poverty and the colonial effects in the Third World – juxtaposing
different levels of status and class. But my subject is diverse, so I
also work on non-native style art.
As far as education, I studied Cultural Anthropology at Hunter
College in New York City. You see, I am also very passionate about
Darwin's Theory of Evolution. I think that an understanding of pre-history,
indigenous, and the birth of the universe as we know it now -- is very relevant
to understanding our plight as modern humans.
Pauline G. Santos
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