October was an exciting month for Santa Fe painter, Roseta Santiago, who was approached by the television network, Epix, to use a few of her paintings on the ongoing set of a new original series called “Graves.” The political satire tells the story of a former U.S. President, Richard Graves, starring actor Nick Nolte, in his journey to right his wrongs 25 years after he leaves office. His home in New Mexico will feature some of Santiago’s beautiful pieces including “The Collector”, “Icon” and “A Place Where I Have Been.”
Roseta Santiago began her career as a painter back in 2000 and describes the experience as, “I moved to New Mexico, locked the door and taught myself how to paint.” Nearly 15 years later, Santiago has excelled not only in painting striking works of art, but in teaching the method as well. Santiago explains her formula as simply, “If you paint, paint well and know what you’re painting. Then, the right pair of eyes will [see] your painting.” Santiago’s stunning Western art certainly succeeded in catching the attention of the television network earlier this month.
Many of Roseta Santiago’s paintings offer a nostalgic presence full of symbolism and storytelling beyond what words can express. The piece entitled, “A Place Where I Have Been” portrays the wanderings of a man draped in a penny blanket walking with his horse, and surrounded by bright-yellow Chamisa wildflowers with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains peeking over in the distance. Santiago describes this piece as being, “reminiscent of how we feel when we’re in a place we’ve been before.”
Another work that will appear in the upcoming television series is called, “The Collector.” This piece is filled with possessions that Roseta has collected over the years from various parts of the world. The most emblematic portion of this painting is the Peregrine falcon, a species known for its own role as a collector, which sits in the very center of the piece. Santiago chose to include the falcon, not only for the symbolism but, “in an effort to give a still life some sort of life.”
The piece entitled “Icon” represents a buffalo skull that Santiago compares to a mask. “Masks can tell the story of the living thing beneath.” Similarly, the buffalo skull tells the story of the living thing that once was. Be sure to keep an eye out for these paintings when “Graves” premieres in the fall of August 2016. Until then, you can view the aforementioned pieces and many more paintings by Roseta Santiago at Blue Rain Gallery.
