Branching out as an artist

Carmen De Santiago, who paints under the name “Kirma’s Art,” works on one of her latest acrylic paintings titled “Strolling” in her art studio at her home in The Forest of Rainbow Springs in Dunnellon, Fla. on Friday, March 13, 2026. De Santiago is originally from Peru and then moved to Miami before moving to the Dunnellon and Ocala area. She has and will have many of her paintings on display in galleries and other locations in Marion and Citrus Counties. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2026.

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Posted March 17, 2026 | By Susan Smiley-Height / Photos by Bruce Ackerman

Many artists can pinpoint an “ah-hah” moment in their career. For Carmen De Santiago, that came when she surprised herself with her artistry in painting a tree on a small rock and thought, “I could put this on canvas!”

Now, the Lima, Peru, native is painting up a forest of art works under the Kirma’s Art banner and has many displayed at locations around Ocala, in the Art Center of Citrus County in Hernando and in the newly opened Inverness Art Co-op. Early next year, she is slated to have a one-woman show at SouthState bank in Ocala.

De Santiago said she has not really been influenced by any particular artists, but has a deep admiration for many, including her mother, Lucy, who was secretary to the president of the International Petroleum Company in Peru, and an aunt, Carmella, who both were painters.

She notes that she was very fond of taking online painting classes from Cinnamon Cooney, who was known to millions as “The Art Sherpa.” Cooney passed away peacefully in her sleep on Dec. 8, 2024, at the age of 54.

De Santiago said that as a young woman, she was adventurous and felt somewhat limited by life in Lima at the time.

“I came into Miami in 1981. I decided to move to the United States because I wanted to be me and be independent. In Peru back then, it was more constrictive and ladies and girls had to do certain things — now it’s different, but then it was a different world,” she shared.

While in Miami, she married and had two sons. She worked for a property management business and then owned her own property management company for about nine years, which was involved with Section 8 housing.

“And that’s stressful,” she said. “I had a stroke and my doctor told me I needed to relax.”

She began to look around Florida for somewhere more serene and found Dunnellon to be appealing. She moved there in 2006.

“I liked the peacefulness. It was a very different kind of people; very quiet, very friendly,” she noted.

De Santiago managed a retail outlet in southwest Ocala for a time. She also remarried and then retired around 2016.

About four years ago, she became the activities director in the community she was living in and said the residents were “doing so many activities.” She said one of them suggested they add a rock painting class.

The painted rock “craze” has been going on for years. It’s a fun hobby in which people paint small rocks and then leave them for others to find and keep or pass on. Some rocks are tied to social media sites, some bear inspirational messages, etc.

“We found a lady who did rock painting and she came to class and we all had a little rock. So, I said, ‘What am I gonna do?’ I painted a tree and I was in shock. I said, ‘Wait a minute, I think I can put this on canvas!’” De Santiago recalled.

“I had painted in high school, and it was my favorite class, so it just came back to me,” she offered. “I did put that tree on canvas and that’s when my new story began. At first, I was very shy, very quiet about it. I did a few things here and there and then I really went to work painting.”

Of branding under the Kirma’s Art banner, she said it was in high school that her friends gave her that nickname.

In working with Cooney, De Santiago said she began to incorporate some of her Peruvian roots into her paintings. She uses acrylic paints because they dry quickly and it’s easy to make changes if desired. In addition to working on canvas, she also paints on santorini marble rocks, which are polished to provide a smooth surface. She does take commissions.

De Santiago shared that she might be out driving or walking and see something that inspires her, so she stops and takes a photo she later will work from to create an artwork, or she will see something on social media or elsewhere and want to capture it on canvas.

“And I look at it and I say, ‘I’m gonna do this’ and of course it doesn’t turn out anything like the picture, but it starts there and develops into some incredible stuff that I don’t even know how it comes about,” she noted.

And sometimes, the image just appears to her.

“It’s in here,” she said pointing to her head. “I can’t stop until I put it on canvas, like those three crazy horses,” she added, pointed to a vibrant painting hanging in her studio. “I had to paint them. I was going crazy with them in my head.”

She said that sometimes she gets “blocked” for days or even weeks and then “I have an itch and can’t stop painting.”

On April 24, De Santiago will be the spotlight artist at the Inverness Art Co-op. On April 7, the Ocala Art Group will open an exhibit at SouthState Bank in Ocala, with a reception on April 16, and she will have artwork in that show. The group recently closed an exhibition at the Chelsea Art Center in Ocala. Through the group, De Santiago currently has paintings on display in Ocala at the Milano Restaurant, Honda of Ocala and the Meza de Notte Restaurant.

“What an honor. I am truly blessed. I am scared because it’s a lot, but at the same time I’m thrilled because this is what I love,” she said.

De Santiago noted that her eldest son, Danny, also is an artist.

“He owns his own tattoo studio in Colorado,” she said, pointing to a pen and ink portrait Patrick did of her late beloved canine, Hendrix, which looks like a photograph it is so detailed.

Her younger son, Patrick, owns his own landscaping business here in Florida.

After being divorced while living in Ocala, De Santiago, who enjoys live music — perhaps because her father was a noted musician in Peru — dancing and social events, met her now significant other, Don DaSilva, at a dance class.

“I walked in. He was there and that was it. We dance a lot and he’s a very good guy, a very good man,” she said with a broad smile.

DaSilva was born in Michigan but raised in Miami. He had a career in supervision for a mechanical contracting company and retired to Ocala 10 years ago to be near his father.

“I met this beautiful girl at a dance class at the Inverness Elks Club,” he said, gazing fondly at De Santiago.

The two enjoy dancing as often as possible, going for motorcycle rides, boating and attending social gatherings with friends.

When asked what he thinks about her artworks, DaSilva replied, “It’s really great. I like seeing her do it and the more she does it, the better she gets. It’s amazing.”

To learn more, find De Santiago at fb.com/profile.php?id=100085623441802

For information about the co-op and art group, go to invernessartcoop.com and ocalartgroup.org