Dave Santillanes
A NATIVE OF COLORADO, Dave Santillanes grew up at the base of the Rocky Mountains. Early family trips into the mountains fostered a deep love and appreciation for the wilderness and probably influenced his later preference for outdoor work, such as wildland firefighting, trail building and working on a ski mountain. After graduating from Colorado State University with a BFA in graphic design, Dave found work as a Digital Imaging Technician and also began to focus his artistic energy on oil painting. These early explorations into oil painting quickly merged with his love of the outdoors and, naturally, oil paint and a field easel became part of his outdoor gear. His explorations into painting and the wilderness continue.
A self-taught artist, Dave points to his first plein air painting excursions as the true beginning of his development as a painter – where direct observation allowed for a more precise rendering of color, light and atmosphere. And although studying the physical aspects of nature is important, it isn’t the only reason Dave paints outdoors. He says, “the sensory experience of being there is equally important. There’s no better way to really get to know a place than to sit for a couple of hours and contemplate it while painting. This intense observation brings a spiritual intimacy with the scene that can’t be achieved in mere passing and allows me to speak with complete sincerity in each painting.”
