Hello and thank you for visiting my website!
My name is Valeska M. Santana and I started painting in 2020 when the world stopped and life as we knew it would never be the same. At that time, I was suffering from a broken heart, unhealthy mindset, spiritual unrest, and health issues, not virus related. As I tried to navigate through the chaos, I waged war against a negative mindset. And I started with the first lie. “You can’t paint.”
The lies I was battling were opinions, insults, limitations I heard repeatedly over the course of many years. One evening I attended a social event and painted a bouquet of flowers in front of a window. Hours later, my painting was put down so harshly I didn’t think twice. I just threw my artwork in the trash, and never picked up a paintbrush again.
Until 2020. When I had the tenacity to defy every lie spoken over me. To prove to no one other than myself that I can do this thing. When I finished my first painting, it was encouraging. I wanted to see what I else I can do. Painting became therapeutic, it was my way of expressing all the emotions I was sorting through. A healthy way to let go, release, worship and maybe one day teach or coach. It really wasn’t, until later in the journey that I shifted from therapeutic painting to prayerful painting. Prayerful painting meaning paintings inspired by my quiet time in prayer and/or worship. Faith means so much to me. It was the only thing that helped get to where I am now and it influences my art today.
The Journey
