S A N T O S
Santos E. Mendez was born in La Habana, Cuba.
He arrived in Miami in August of 1962 and
has lived here all his life.
At a very early age, he discovered he was given
a gift, a gift with forms and colors which finally
exploded on a canvas.
His early paintings consisted on images he saw.
Capturing the beauty Nature had already
given us, he went on to create a style of is own.
Santos then began to study more seriously
the beauty provided by Nature. He was able
to implement his natural talent in
visualizing what is not visible to most of us.
The lively effects of his paintings are represented
by his depiction of the magnetism
of exotic people and tropical places.
Being an islander himself, he embraces palm
trees on land and turquoise waters from the ocean.
His still lives represent this mood,
a powerful combination of jewel tones
displaying vibrancy as well as harmony.
Santos has been the recipient of many awards
such as the Grand Prize winner for best in show
at the Brickell Key Master Association Annual
Art Festival in 2004. Also, second place in the show at
at Carnival Miami presented by the Kiwanis of
Little Havana in 2006. He proudly appears in
Avancemos, 2nd ed. in 2006 by Mc Dougal Littell.
A text book distributed throughout High Schools
in the U.S.A and Canada. Also received recognition
at the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, Tampa in 2007.
Santos' art work appear in private collections internationally.