Pio Dos Santos Ronaldo

Ronaldo Pio dos Santos was born without arms and atrophy of the right foot (thalidomide victim) on 6 June 1960 in Belo Horizonte. At the age of seven he began to draw and paint using his right foot, but not on a regular basis. He became truly interested in art in the year 1970 when he was a patient at the SESI Hospital in São Paulo. In occupational therapy he started to paint with crayons. His great enthusiasm led him to watercolour and later to oil painting. From 1980 on Ronaldo's works were shown at many exhibitions. His paintings have also become known outside Brazil, as he has sold his paintings in the USA, in Japan and Europe.