Joel de Santiago’s passion for art started when depression knocked at his life's door. He tried to hide it for the longest time, but he knew that by doing so he was going to continue hurting himself and those around him, so he decided to do something about it. Joel took on the task of finding a natural alternative to fight this depression, and he can say that sometimes things will just appear right in front of you. One day, walking downtown, a smell hit Joel’s nose. It was coming from an art gallery, the smell of oil finish paintings. 

“As I walk through the door, I start feeling so much peace, piano music playing in the background, I’ve never felt this much tranquility in a place, and as I start looking around at all those beautiful paintings, I start to feel so happy. It was just like when you haven’t seen somebody that you love for the longest time, and there they are giving you a very strong hug. Walking out of the gallery, all that I wanted to do was to paint and share my happiness with everybody, so I went to the art store for art supplies. When I got home, my daughter had just arrived from a sleepover so I start setting up, and we paint together.” Joel describes this day as one of the most beautiful days in his life, and the rest is history.

You can find more of Joel’s original work at: https://www.artdesantiago.com/