Santana's Garden Painting

Santana was born in Glasgow Scotland and grew up in Canada, mainly on the East Coast. After living 20 yr in England, she now lives in Aptos california. From childhood Santana loved making art, finger painting and coil pots with clay dug from the garden with her sister Canadian Artist , Eve Lyndorah. One of her ancestors, Lily McDougall (1875- 1958), was an artist, who worked in watercolors and oils. She studied in Antwerp and Paris and was the first woman to be admitted into the Scottish Guild of Painters. In the summer of 1969 Santana moved to Prince Edward Island, where the path of art began to open up when she met the British Canadian artist Hilda Woolnough. Hilda was a graduate of Chelsea School of Art in London, England. She became Santana's friend and mentor. Santana has always loved beauty, especially the beauty of nature, which is a great inspiration for her painting. She loves color and feels the magical, mystical quality of nature and expresses this in her paintings. She has traveled to tropical exotic places, where nature is rampant and colors are vibrant, and this comes through in her bold colors and shapes. One of her favorite styles of painting is impressionistic magic realism. This kind of painting evokes a very special quality of stillness and serenity, which can be experienced out in nature. Santana aspires to make her paintings beautiful, full of color and light. Her goal is to capture a moment in nature and in time, and paint it on the canvas so others feel the energy of the place in the expression of the painting. She loves to paint, the feel of the brush in her hand and the flow of color on to the paper or canvas. Painting is a meditation for her. Santana lives in a beautiful place with her husband two cats, and deer running through her garden. She loves to grow things and watch things grow. She loves children and has four plus four grand children. When she is not painting she is at the beach, hiking, gardening, dancing or reading. Santana paints landscapes, seascapes and still life's, especially flowers. She also does mystical paintings with a vision or concept in mind. Along time ago she realized art is about seeing. The artist sees what others don't see and expresses it in their art, so others begin to see things differently and experience inspiration and joy from the art