Color palette of the month: Ana santos acinas

APRIL ARTIST

Introducing our Color Palette of the Month artist, Ana Santos Acinas!

Artwork Title: “Make Your Own Zine” Mural at the University of Arizona Poetry Center.
Medium: Acrylic Paint. 180 sq. ft.

Year: 2022

A mural, a play-box and a kids’ bench located inside the Poetry Center’s library to encourage the creation of zines among children and teenagers.

Meet Ana, a spirited illustrator and muralist originally from the Basque Country, who’s been living in Tucson since 2019.

With a background steeped in painting, fashion design, and education, Ana’s artistic journey is as diverse as it is dynamic.

Drawing inspiration from pop culture, cartoons, and comic art, Ana presents her unique perspective of the world through a lens of naivety and vibrant colors. Her work, characterized by boldness and humor, incorporates unconventional color Ana’s work isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s a storytelling journey that dives deep into societal issues like feminism and climate change, all while keeping things light and humorous.

So, as a child you can also enjoy the art, but as an adult you are able to see what it is just beneath the surface.

Ana’s heart truly belongs to mural painting. There’s something magical about taking art outdoors, where she feels free and connected with nature. Through her murals, Ana is on a mission to sprinkle communities with bright colors and happiness, all while celebrating the resilience that lies within us all.

Through her murals, she revels in the transformative power of art, bringing communities to life with bright colors that uplift and inspire. Rooted in a passion for community building and the pursuit of happiness, Ana’s artistic endeavors strike a delicate balance between celebrating life’s cheerfulness and highlighting the resilience ingrained within society.

Outside of her artistic pursuits, Ana indulges in her love for horror movies, chocolate, and roller skating, all while embracing her personal mantra: “Chica, you got this!”

I select the colors in an organic way, we could even say without thinking. What I plan is the drawing, but not the colors. I always start with primary colors: magenta, cyan and yellow, and from there I go with whatever color is next to the other. I like bright, strong, vivid colors that contrast with each other, for example, a pink and a red, an orange and a pink, a yellow and a pink. Anything with pink makes me happy, so I use it to the fullest. Black usually appears outlining the illustration, and white to soften so much strident color together.

Ana Santos on her process of choosing color palettes