S usan S antiago was born and raised on the East coast where she spent her summer vacations wandering the sandy beaches of the New Jersey shore. After graduating from High school she moved to Greenwich Village, New York and, in 1971, received a Bachelor's Degree in Art History from New York University. A year later she moved to Woodstock, New York in order to pursue her dream of becoming an artist. While living in Woodstock she taught school in Ulster County and attended the Art Students League, where she studied drawing and painting for a number of years. In 1978 she left New York and moved to Venice , California where she enrolled in California State University Los Angeles. She received a MA in Fine Arts in 1982. Upon graduation she devoted herself to painting full time in studios in Venice and later downtown Los Angeles, where she was able to procure a large studio at a minmal expense. At that time she and a photographer were the sole occupants of a building on Vignes street. After a year she decided to forgo city living and move to Topanga Canyon, where she later met her husband Ral, an architect and night club owner . She lived there for 16 years, where she continued to paint and enjoy the rural scenery. During their summer vacations, she and her husband traveled extensively in Mexico; this experience inspired the subject matter of her paintings for a number of years. She later returned to teaching full time, and is currently on the staff of the art department at Palisades High School.
She now resides in Box Canyon, a rustic and remote area near the Chatsworth reservoir. Her home is surrounded by a unique rocky terrain which appears quite often in her most recent landscapes. She and her husband also spend summers in their vacation home in Lake Arrowhead where she also maintains a studio. Susan has exhibited in galleries on both the East and West coasts and has been represented by Orlando Gallery for over 20 years.Susan has recently begun writing with singer/songwriter Rebecca Dru on a 12 song CD that’s due out in 2008. Her lyrics are filled with stories about life and love, filled with imagery and emotion that will touch the human heart on every level.