Joejene C. Santos
Painting intuitively and trusting my inner self in complete surrender are the core of my creative process. To me, knowing the beauty of who we are within is a liberating truth… it keeps me to be in constant awe of the world around us, to be one with all its creation, to soak in the moment and to fully and truly live the gift of life.
It is about allowing the process and the moment to happen, to take place and surrender yourself in your purest, most authentic self, without worry or fear... To just trust in your intuition until the process takes its own shape and reveal itself… and the result is like LIFE in visual form, in its truest physical presence.
Could you tell us a little more about your background and how you began creating art?
Born in the Philippines in 1970, I'm a Bachelor in Fine Arts graduate from the Philippine Women's University of Manila, Philippines in 1996. A highlight during my university years was when we formed an art group of talented fine art students Tatlong Sulok (Three Corners) which was commissioned to paint a series of murals of our university's history. After graduation, I worked as a graphic designer, illustrator, workshop facilitator, theme park designer, and art teacher until I immigrated to Ottawa, Canada with my family in 2006. Even after moving to a new country, I never stopped pursuing my joy of making art. Currently, my work is represented by the Orange Art Gallery of Ottawa, and Le Salon Art Club Galerie of Montreal.
I started enjoying making art during my elementary days in school and with my new set of pencils, crayons, and watercolors I get excited to do draw cartoons, jet planes, and houses in the rice fields. When I was 9 or 10 years old my father gave me a good quality set of watercolors and I painted this really cool landscape of rice field and I felt so happy about the result and hung it in our home replacing an old photo wall decor. Since then, making art has really grown on me and it has been an essential part of discovering the artist in me and life's beautiful journey.
What does your art aim to say to its viewers?
Art is a discovery of who we are within and the greatest that we will be. Knowing oneself through art-making is knowing that I am a wonderful expression of life and grateful to be alive.
Can you tell us about the process of creating your work? What is your daily routine when working?
My creative process is very intuitive, consciously engaging, and enjoying the moment of creation. I do a series of works that inspired me for which provide the main structure for my pictorial composition but when I work, I love the idea that I do not worry what it is about, where it is going, or how it is going to be put together. I just want to be in my present and feel alive. And yet, I know that within me, there is already an image, I just have to bring it out by feeling it.
I start my day now with prayer/meditation in the morning. Have some healthy drinks and eat good food and do my morning stretching at least for twenty minutes. The rest of the day I enjoy painting great works in the studio and a little bit of everything life may offer in between.
What is the essential element in your art?
I write down these words on my blank canvas before I start painting... Life. Home. I Am Life. These words keep me focus on what I really wanted to achieve at the end of the day.
In your opinion, what role does the artist have in society?
To always be in the present, always be authentic, honest, and true. I believe an artist in his/her present and utmost authentic self will always reflect the signs of contemporary times through their works to remind us about the value of life and the need for us to evolve into a better version of ourselves.
Website: www.joejeneartstudio.com