Nicole Monae Vargas-Santiago, whose work is on display in the Fresno City College Library, says art has always been her favorite pastime.

“I grew up without television,” Vargas-Santiago said. “So most of my pastime included drawing, coloring and creating in many different forms.”

In her artwork, “Moon Dancer” charcoal; “Prima” mixed medium; “Serenity” mixed medium and “Miles” acrylic, Vargas-Santiago displays her many talents — from her favorite medium charcoal to one of her lesser favorite’s paint.

“I enjoy working with [charcoal] the most, and I can nearly get away with working with it anywhere,” Vargas-Santiago said. “It’s a lot easier to pull out a piece of charcoal to work with than a bunch of paints.”

Vargas-Santiago is passionate about and committed to her art. The art pieces displayed in the library clearly demonstrates her love for creating art that can touch others’ emotions.  

She wants her art pieces to display a certain beauty and grace, hoping to encourage those who viewed her artwork to see the depth of who African-Americans and people of color are, so that their beauty is not forgotten.    

“I wanted to enrich and empower the beauty and history,” Vargas-Santiago said. “A lot of work went into creating the body of artwork that is displayed.The technicality [correctness of drawing or painting] was not even the most important part of the creation process.”

“The thought process, the idea, how do I portray what I want the viewer to understand, how do I go about the aesthetics, and what’s the most important part of what I’m creating?” Vargas-Santiago said.

All the inspiration that Vargas-Santiago needed to create her work was Black History Month, soul and natural beauty. She wants the viewers to take away more than what was done in the past, so she presents the now and the growth that has happened. Santiago showed the aftermath of the fight for the cause.

“I wanted to capture the value and the beauty of who we are today. The outcome of what was fought for,” Vargas-Santiago said. “To bring people of color out from the shadows” and for the hope of where we can be if we continue to fight for a better and equal tomorrow.