“I can’t play guitar worth a damn, so this is my tribute to Eddie Van Halen.” — Dave Santia
This guy is amazing! Dave Santia, a “speed painter” from Detroit, paints his tribute to Eddie Van Halen. He paints very quickly — with both hands(!) — and the results impressive! (Don’t take our word for it — watch the video above. Just don’t skip ahead — watch the full 6 minutes!)
The VHND spoke to Dave Santia, a great guy who’s been a huge Van Halen fans since he first saw the video for “Jump” on MTV at around nine years old. He says his favorite Dave era album is 1984, and his favorite Sammy era album is For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. If he had to pick just one desert island Van Halen album, it would have to be the Best Of Both Worlds 2-CD collection, as it’s, naturally, packed with VH classics!
Buy this painting and support a great charity:
The painting in the video — his first and only Van Halen speed painting — is currently up for auction. Proceeds of the sale benefit the American Kidney Fund. (Dave’s father had kidney disease and was on dialysis for the last years on his life. That’s why he chose the American Kidney Fund as the charity).
Auction ends TOMORROW (Tues, June 7th at 3:10pm EST. Bid on eBay HERE.
More about Dave Santia:
Dave Santia is a premier performance speed painter from the Detroit area. With a combination of rock & roll, and attack of speed and color, Dave Santia creates his speed paintings paintings right before your very eyes in just a matter of minutes!
Dave Santia began his artistic journey at the young age of 7, filling sketchpad after sketchpad with different drawings; his mom’s one constant shopping list item was a new sketch pad every week. Mostly self-trained, Dave Santia further continued on through the years learning different techniques from multiple sources.
Dave Santia also has a love for music. One day, while he was sitting at home wondering how he could combine his two loves of art and music, he found himself surfing on YouTube when he came across a video of speed painter Denny Dent. Dave Santia watched that video, and thought to himself, “I think I can do that.” So he practiced, and worked at it and soon unveiled his Art and Soul.
Originally planning on using his speed painting ability to get people’s attention and to get them interested in his oil paintings that can take up to 40 hours, Dave soon found himself invited to perform his speed paintings at various charitable fundraisers and occasional corporate events.
Since premiering his speed paintings in 2011, Dave Santia has helped multiple charities raise close to $400,000.00 from the auctioning of his artwork as of December, 2014. With over 150 speed paintings in his arsenal (and growing), Dave can easily accommodate any audience. Dave Santia has also had the pleasure of working with several local media and sports figures, and multiple national celebrities
Follow Dave!
Keep up with Dave Santia’s amazing work on his website, Facebook, and Twitter.
More impressive videos!
Unlike his EVH speed painting, which took just 6 minutes, his EVH oil painting took 20 hours.
Quick interview