Ronaldo PIO DOS SANTOS

Short Biography

Ronaldo Pio dos Santos was born on 6th June 1960 in Belo Horizonte with no arms and with atrophy of the right foot (a victim of the drug Thalidomide). At the age of 7, he began painting and drawing with his right foot, though he only painted occasionally at that time. However, his enthusiasm for art was awakened in 1970, when he was a patient in the SESI Hospital in São Paulo, where he began to draw with coloured pencils as occupational therapy. His enormous enthusiasm then led him to watercolour painting and, later, to oil painting. Since 1980, Ronaldo’s works have been displayed at many exhibitions. In the meantime, his fame has reached beyond the borders of Brazil, as he has already been able to sell his pictures in the USA, Japan and Europe.