Roseta Santiago is known for her dynamic realistic paintings. This painting is entitled, “Messenger“.  It is an oil on canvas and Roseta said of this piece, “This is the third in the trilogy in my journey.  It is about the passing of time.  The Mayan calendar imagery on the horse is from Leland Chapin who studies Mayan art.  The horse carries the message of the passage of time.  The figure to the right is Gomeo, with a dragonfly on his blanket.  The three people are the girl in a red blanket (youth), the middle is a person moving forward and looking to the future, and the left (is an elder) who is the furthest along in life.”  The piece is signed, “Santiago”.

Roseta said of this current show:

“This is a retrospective of all my favorite subjects. Wanted to see if I Had improved over time. That’s why it is called “journey”.    Roseta Santiago

“Journey is a testament to Santiago’s commitment to her own growth as an artist and to her honoring historic and contemporary Native American People and their art”.  Western Art Collector Magazine

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.