Dream Painting

My name is Santiago II Aguirre Melendez. I was bord in 1970 in Saltillo, Mexico, a small city in which my mother, my three siblings and I grew up. Since I was a little boy, I’d enjoy all kinds of art; drawing and painting were always present in my life in a shy, underestimated manner. However, nowadays, they are a part of my everyday life. One day in 1977, after the passing of my father, my mother began working at the city public library. She would take me with her every day to that foreign place that would introduce me to the world of art. During my walks in the building, I started noticing that there were not only books whose pages contained only letters, but also books with images in them. Day to day I clung to find those magical books with illustrations that made my imagination bounce off the walls; I’d observe paintings carefully, looking for the details that made them unique, wondering how they were done and dreaming about making them one day. Growing up I understood that art is a limitless form of expression; that when we are born, the first thing we see are colors, shapes, textures, symmetry, and that with the passing of the time, our visual taste develops. For 43 years, I suppressed the art so ardently wished to be born from within me; I dedicated my time to loving, seeing, traveling, raising my two children, and getting to know my dreams. One day, I finally accepted that art was coming out of my pores, that mt art wasn’t shy anymore but passionate and energetic; that day I decided to be a painter, as professional as an amateur could aspire to be. I took art and painting courses and studied Caravaggio and Rembrandt, among other great contemporary artists. I attended various art exhibitions and even exhibited my work at the Dallas Museum of Art and Latino Cultural Center of Dallas. Currently, I live in the United States, a country that has inspired me to keep feeding my desires to paint and to express what I see and what I am. Each one of my paintings has a different story within hours of work and sacrifices. It is my quenchless desire to continue traveling this world in which I get to tell stories with paintbrushes, color, and a lot of heart.