Originally from Lisbon, Portugal I am now living near Sheffield, in the beautiful Yorkshire region of the UK.
I studied Sociology in Lisbon and Pisa before I decided in 1992 to move to London and pursue a career as an artist. Since then I have been fortunate to have sold my work to wonderful people in Europe, Australia, USA and Canada.
The painting process
I am greatly inspired by my immediate surroundings: familiar objects, the landscape and nature influence the work I do and my choice of subjects. My work has been evolving over the years and presently my paintings focus mainly on seascapes, landscapes and still-life.
My painting process is very direct, I rarely do any preliminary sketches and prefer to start painting freely what I see. This is for two reasons: when I sketch I have a tendency to over do it and the result is a finished drawing by itself, that looses it freshness translated onto a canvas and the other reason is that I really like the little “accidents” that sometimes make a painting work.
I enjoy painting in oil because of its texture, the different brush marks that can be achieved and the slow drying process that makes you analyse and study the painting before you show it to the world. I also use watercolours which are quite the opposite, with its translucent layers of colour that leaves no room for mistakes.
For me, an artist is not just the ability to paint ( photograph, sculpt, etc) and making a living out of your craft; is a form of being in the world. I can not imagine a way of living without the possibility of using my hands to express what I feel and like. For that reason, I enjoy experimenting with new materials, techniques and art forms.
