Roseta Santiago is known for her dynamic realistic paintings. This painting is entitled, “Mesa Moon II“.  It is an oil on panel. The painting depicts a girl in a blanket with the Moon in gold leaf in the background.  The piece is signed, “Santiago”.  Roseta said of this painting:

“In this painting, there is the moon in gold leaf that is a symbol of the mystery of beauty. The moon is a powerful force representing the sacred and the enviromnent.  I wanted this painting to honor women.  The model is Dine and she is wearing a Navajo blanket.”

History reverberates in each of her paintings.  Roseta Says of her art:

“The things that inspire me are the historical artifacts, historical people.  My models are people with whom I spend time and who have something to reveal. It’s always about inner beauty. It’s mainly the interior of a person or thing. I can almost experience a pot being made when I paint it. I just see what the potter went through.” 

She is best known for her luminous still life and figurative paintings of Native peoples and artifacts portrayed with dramatic lighting, Santiago is a master at chiaroscuro.  She uses mostly living models, although a few historic people taken from photographs weave their way into her art.  She says one of her goals is to honor Native American culture through her portrayals in her art.