BIOGRAPHY
I was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and grew up in front of Ipanema beach.
I spent a lot of time at the beach watching the sun set behind the mountains. During my childhood I had a black cat and perroquets and that ignited my fascination with nature and animals. Having spent a lot of time visiting the Royal Botanic Gardens in Rio de Janeiro I started a life-long connection to trees, plants and the animal kingdom.
Currently living in Edinburgh, Scotland, I swapped the sunny beaches in Rio for the winter and solitude of the Scottish coast.
In the moments in between working in Financial Services I found myself drawn to galleries in particular the Edinburgh National Portrait Gallery. It was at this time that I took the leap to join an Art Group where my interest became a passion. It wasn’t until I attended the Leith School of Art that I found more of a voice and a medium I could use to express that voice.
CV
Aug 2023 Art & Love in the Digital Age Exhibition Edinburgh Palette
Dec 2022 Image Collective Exhibition Ocean Terminal Edinburgh
Sep 2022 Beyond Light and Shadow Exhibition Edinburgh Palette
2022 Certificate of Botanical Painting in Watercolour Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh / University of Edinburgh
2023 Edinburgh Drawing School
2018-present Leith School of Art
2016-2018 Art Club Edinburgh
STATEMENT
Wandering around Edinburgh I feel that there can be looming sadness and through painting I can work through these emotions. I find in my art ways to explore this sadness and loneliness back at me and interrogate the environment for opportunities to find joy and connection. In this journey of self-discovery I introduce elements from my home city Rio de Janeiro such as colours and bold shapes reminiscent from influences of African and Indigenous culture. I enjoy taking my sketchbook to various locations in Edinburgh where I make ordinary places be transformed into striking paintings full of energy and liveliness. Crossing the bridge from sadness to happiness is a prevailing theme in my work. Some favourite places to draw and paint are around the city’s Water of Leith canal, nearby parks where people walk their dogs and children’s play areas in these parks, the surrounding Pentlands Hills with its lakes and luscious forest and Leith docks. I draw my inspiration from Monet’s paintings in Giverny, Munch’s beautiful snowy landscape and colourful horse paintings as well as Frida Kahlo’s bold and saturated colours. During my work outside I like to paint directly on canvases using oil and acrylic, as well as using sketchbooks or just plain paper for sketches in oil and chalk pastels. My main source of inspiration are trees and their undulating branches. When back in the studio I tend to use colours such as Ivory Black , Titanium White, Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, Vermillion and Yellow Ochre mixing these into the Zorn Palette to convey a harmonious colour range which allows me to capture and explore the prevalence of grey and brown moody tones of the city’s landscape. For the composition I usually draw on my intuitive approach of arrangement of shapes as well as my weekly visits to photography and art exhibitions. I like to mix the traditional influences from the Dutch Masters and blend them into Contemporary Art. In this process I remain a Representational Painter. With my work I hope to engage the viewer into a contemplative meditational state and a sense of peace. My aim is to convey hope and structure by providing a sense of security and positivity through my paintings.
