My Kids In The Studio

I love when my kids come out to the studio to spend time with me while I paint. My little artist is getting to an age where he can paint right along side me and entertain himself, for short periods of time, while I keep working.

It's amazing how observant they both are of my mannerisms when I paint because they mimic the things that I do subconsciously. When my little artist is drawing me he will look at my face, draw a little bit, look at my face again, draw more. Really studying and being precise in his decisions. La Artista will pretend to paint on the canvas, back up and stare almost like she is studying the piece, take a few steps forward and then paint more. Seriously it's amazing to me how much they pick up on.

Even though  my little artist is only 4 he is already drawing things bigger if they are in the foreground or smaller if they are far away or in the background. I'm a proud dad!

This little one loves to get into everything in the barn! I can't wait until she is content to paint with us.

A Family Portrait

My son, aka our little artist, usually need to be coerced to be creative. He is already such a perfectionist (like his mom) that he is really hesitant to do things on his own because he can't "do it right". It has been so nice lately to see him relax a little and want to draw pictures for people. His uninterpretable images are becoming recognizable objects.

Our little artist (age 4) with his chalk creation - himself, me (dad), mom, baby, and our nanny Savannah.
My wife drew the "eye love you" below.

A few days ago during nap time he created this masterpiece of our family. When he should have been napping he got his chalk out and all on his own, without any prodding, drew our family. He was so excited later in the day to surprise us all. He even made our nanny emotional because, she of course is part of the family.

I'll be here this weekend with my wife, our little artist, and la artista all in tow. Hope to see you there!

Beaver Creek Art Festival

76 Avondale Ln. 

Avon, Colorado

August 4th-5th

Sat & Sun - 10am-5pm

VWs Are Part Of The Family

Around our house VWs aren't just something that Santiago paints - they are part of the family! We were so excited when Santiago traded his 1956 Ford Truck for this gorgeous blue single cab.  It made a great addition to our family pictures this year.

Our 2nd Little Artist

We are happy to announce the arrival of La Artista.  She was born on June 13th - 7 lbs 15 oz and is a perfect dainty version of her brother.

We are all doing well and adjusting to having this sweet addition to our family.  Our Little Artist is thrilled about his sister and is already teaching her how to paint.

Art Slam 2011

Last week Santiago had the opportunity to be one of the artist to participate in the first annual Art Slam at the Springville Art Museum.  He spent the day painting a portrait of our little artist and meeting lots of people from the community along with other local artists.

Santiago is featured in this video the DailyHerald produced about the event.

It was a great event and a wonderful opportunity for Santiago.  At the end of the day we went to see the final pieces on display and our little artist was so excited to see that his daddy had painted him.

A Special Announcement From Our Little Artist

We pause the give-away to bring you a special announcement..

Museum Manners

Several months ago when we went to see Santiago's painting at the Springville Art Museum, our little artist may or may not have walked right up to it and hit it really hard. We need to work on the museum manners - rule #1 do not hit the paintings (even if its your dad's painting).

Coincidentally our little artist looked exactly like the cupids in this painting and was being just as mischievious.

Needless to say, it became necessary for us to exit the premises when one of the curators started talking to Santiago about his piece.

But, our little artist didn't mind a bit!

Art On Vacation

Every summer we spend a wonderful couple of week's with all of Santiago's family (24 and a half of us) vacationing on the beach in Mexico.  That means lots of time to relax and paint. 

Santiago plein air painting on the beach summer 2009

This year Santiago's brother Leo posed for several hours so Santiago could paint him.  They even rigged it so he could play FIFA soccer on the X-Box (one of their favorite games) to help pass the time.

They also took hundreds of pictures of 'our little artist' just doing his thing.  Santiago oil painted while Leo sketched.  The amazing thing about 'our little artist's' 2-year-old body is how round his little belly is and how child-like his mannerisms are which is evident especially in the way he balances the weight of his body and movement. He was so cute running around in just his diaper and dad's socks.

Santiago patiently walked me through my first painting.  Apparently being around, and being able to recognize artistic talent doesn't make you a natural artist - that's for sure!  Santiago was an amazing teacher  and it was a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend an afternoon together on vacation.

We put Santiago's artistic talent to good use for our chin people skit and to make a RISK game from scratch when we discovered the board game got left at home.  What can I say?  He is a very versitile artist!

A Picture Worth Painting

Now this is a picture worth painting!  Our little artist watching his daddy working on the barn while wearing his VW hat and Manchester United soccer jersey (two of Santiago's favorite things). 

It was time for a snack but there was no dragging that boy away from the activity outside - he was so dirty and happy as can be!  One of the first things his daddy said when he saw this picture was "I should paint that!"

Budding Artist

Santiago started painted when he was three years old and had obvious talent from a very young age.  Our son Kimball is only two and already showing an interest in painting. 

We recently got him his own easle. 

Here is a video of the 2nd time he picked up a paint brush.  He has taken to it very naturally - of course he has seen his dad paint a lot.

His favorite thing to paint is busses - I wonder where he gets that from?!