Santiago H. Michalek was born near Buenos Aires, Argentina. His artistic ability presented itself early in life, following the influence of his grandfather, who introduced him to drawing. Santiago warmly recalls how, as a child, he and his grandfather drew horses while sitting on the veranda of his childhood home. Those intimate moments sparked a lifelong passion in Santiago, who has been advancing his craft as an artist and a painter ever since.
In 2003, Santiago started his own business, restoring vintage models of Volkswagen beetles and buses. He successfully turned his hobby of tinkering and love for VWs into a profitable business with multiple restoration projects. He also began to notice that VW owners shared a certain common quirk: each was completely devoted to Volkswagen vehicles, often passionately so. This fierce devotion resonated with Santiago, whose fondness for VWs compelled him to become a master on the vehicles, with a near encyclopedic knowledge of their makes and models throughout the car company’s history.
Though Santiago’s VW paintings naturally reflect his love for VWs, he also enjoys painting and drawing a broad range of subjects, particularly the human figure. In his work as a figurative painter, Santiago strives to capture the essence of day-to-day existence, rendering unforgettable figurative images with the clarity and refinement present in his VW paintings.
In 2009, Santiago’s self-taught skills and formidable talent, as well as a lifetime of painting and preparation, coalesced under the guidance and encouragement of Sean Diediker and Justin Taylor at the Bridge Academy of Art. His work has since been exhibited at the Springville Museum of Art, and the Meyer Gallery in Park City. He has also received an Award of Merit in the Springville Museum of Art’s 2010 Spring Salon.
He currently resides in Provo, Utah, with his wife Elizabeth, their son - a budding artist who loves to draw VW buses with his dad, and their new baby girl.
© 2021. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Santiago H. Michalek or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only
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| Santiago H. Michalek |
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At work
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| Gallery |
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| 3 Ski Rack |
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All-Seeing Eyes
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| Dying light |
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Ireland Dry Dock
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Michalek's Paint Service
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| Sentinel |
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| Tree Deliver |
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Apollo Waiting for Shoes
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| Epic |
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| Its Time |
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Moody Airstream
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| Ski Lodge |
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| Age before Beauty |
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| Dapples |
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| Gypsy Vanner |
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| Light of the GODS |
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Panamericana
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The Sandblaster
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| Woodstock |
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| 1915 |
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| Burlington |
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| Belgians |
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Gonna Make it
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Fixer Upper
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| Leviathan |
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KM328
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| On the Steps |
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The Indian
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| The Balloon |
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| Balancing Act |
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| Julia Flamenco |
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Murphys wholesale something something something
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| Turquoise in White |
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Wabash
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