Assembling... GRETE SAMSA - Love & Life series - Exhibition

 

 

GRETE SAMSA - Love & Life series - Exhibition

Location:maps.google.com

A doodle for a friend

Doodle

 

Great idea, give art everybody

Andreia Alexandra - portrait

Andreia Alexandra

Graphite, acrylic and marker on papper,

11.6x16.1in (29,5x41,9cm)

enVide neFelibata's portrait comission #003.1

Gilding finished, much sweat for laying the entire gold leaf.

Now, on to the painting again...

enVide neFelibata's portrait comission #003

First time gilding with real gold leaf... difficult as hell. The leaf's really more thin, and it's quite though to handle it, at least without the proper brush. I guess that must be by next buy.

enVide neFelibata's portrait comission #002

New stages of the painting.

Drawing. Red for the flesh, white for the gold leaf.

Instagram videos - Beginning a commissioned portrait

Gold Leaf 23 & 3/4K

I've made quite some works using golden leaf, but i was commissioned a portrait in witch i shall use for the first time real gold leaf, 23 & 3/4K. The pressure's some, but i think i'll manage, after all it's the same technique only more money involved.

I bought it were i usually buy the golden leaf, at "Francisco Costa & Irmão (Google Maps).

They're 3.1x3.1in (8x8cm) a book with 25 leafs costs 27,50€, but it also depends on the price of gold. The other material to use with gold/golden leaf is mixtion (mordente). This type of glue is to apply to the surface so that after we can lay the leaf, and the one i use is from french makers "Lefranc & Bourgeois", and believe me... it cost a lot, around 60€/l (240€/gal).

Sketchbook #10

Here are two drawings made within a few days of one another, around March, 2007.

The first one is a fortunate portrait of master painter Júlio Resende, made during a small open class e gave to my colleagues an i during college. I was very proud at the time... and still am a lit bit.

This second one it's a little morbid.

This was the neighbors late dog, Tica. The curious thing was that i knew the small bitch for quite some time, and never had the least wish to draw her, until one Friday or Saturday i was doing nothing. I knew she was an old dog, a getting sicker as time went by, but the strange thing was to draw her and at beginning of the week she past away.

enVide neFelibata's portrait comission #001

Starting a new painting commissioned by enVide neFelibata.

It will be a oil portrait, in much looking alike style wise with some i've posted earlier, using golden leaf, only this time the request is much more fun... i'll be using actual gold leaf (23 & 3/4K), and can't wait for it.

This is the beginning of the portrait, a nice square canvas (about 24 in), now with a first layer of paint, red for doing flesh tones.

Instagram videos

A few days or even weeks, Instagram has updated to include video as one possible way of "creating pictures". Not really a fan of social networks, though i'm using one right now, the whole LIKE and CHAT and shit bothers me... but i've used the video tool in Instagram and found it funny to use. The main idea is to use it just the same way a a picture, only a moving one... Here's the first four!

Sneak preview...

Sneak preview of my last finalized project. Pretty glad with the frames, considering that they're totaly hand made.

Exhibitions (Art Contest)

As usual in the past years, i've been sending works to about three or four art contests a year, and this time is no different. Here's two works sent to different contests, "VI Bienal de Pintura de Pequeno Formato - Prémio Joaquim Afonso Madeira" (this on's a premier for me) and "Prémio Carmen Miranda 2013, Marco de Canaveses" (third consecutive participation).

VI Bienal de Pintura de Pequeno Formato - Prémio Joaquim Afonso Madeira

In this work i was limited to the area maximum measures, and that was kind of a challenge since i started working in the opposite way, making my drawings/paintings bigger. To transform my work to a small area such as this, i though that maybe giving it more volume than usual would be a breakthrough not only no fulfill the requirements but also it would become probably the start of so new works... and that's that... as soon as i've finished it, immediately was beginning to sketch a few other pieces to create, just wait a while to see them.

Tampo no Rala

Watercolor pencil and acrilyc on papel on wood box,

13x9,5x2,9in (2,6lbs)

Prémio Carmen Miranda 2013, Marco de Canaveses

European Year of Citizens - this is the theme of this years contest. what to do, what to do...

Not wanting to work with a very direct explicit image, i started to conceive it based upon classical symbols and

mythology, also looking for something that immediately represents the more recent European idea of community.

One important aspect of the final result to me, was connecting visually with the work i've been doing, aesthetically,

technically or expression wise.

Though i've entered the contest with two pieces, only one one elected for exhibition... no biggies, yet it's shame,

cause i've the impression that the judges try to select only one work per artist, since the gallery is not that big.

Europa I: Rape of Europa

Charcoal, paint, golden leaf, oil and acrilyc on papel on wood box,

49x29x2,9in

Also waiting for judges desision for another one, "9º Prémio Amadeo de Souza Cardoso" (bienal), and hopping this year i'll be chosen, this is probably my third attempt.

Frames (finalizing an old project)

Some time ago i started a painting project, one of many that stays in "stand by" mode. Since a few weeks i've started to work on the frames to use on that set of paintings, with the purpose of giving it a new idea - combining pair or trios, would make a different, interesting composition.

In order to save some money and having the result i intended, making them from scratch was the necessary, so i bought pine wood and picked up good old school tools. Here's some photos of the process, soon i'll post one or two of the finished "product", although the ensemble will be available in my site.

Doodle

Doodle

Old mermaid...