Brasil

My favorite place in the world. Beautiful beaches. Rolling mountains. Palm trees. Brigadeiro. Friendly faces. Guaraná. The world's best football. What's not to love?

Gabriela (9x12)
This is the first painting I did of a little girl in Brasil. 

I hope these paintings can introduce you to some of the faces and scenery of Florianópolis, Brasil. I started going to this incredible coastal city every year since the time I was fifteen. Then I spent a semester living with a family in Floripa working at a community center in a slum. Many of our activities were with children, and I cannot even describe how deeply the children touched my heart and left a lasting imprint. Looking into their faces, sometimes I saw an inexplicable joy, but sometimes it was a quiet desperation. Occasionally I captured a good photograph of this look, and it has been one of my favorite subjects to paint. I truly believe that the eyes in these paintings speak of the reality of these kids' lives. I love painting them and expressing what I see in their faces because they are people very close to my heart. Art always turns out best when you paint something you are passionate about, and I can say that these kids and this place is the beat of my heart.

Acabou o Dia (20x24)

Jorge (8x10)

Julio (8x10)
This is actually a Paraguayan boy, as is Jorge

Guilhermo (8x10)
limited palette of four neutral colors

Textures of Sunset (16x20)
Study of textured brush strokes and exaggerated color

Praia Inglêses (9x12)

As Ruas em Frei Damião (11x14)
This is the favela (slum) I worked in where most of these faces come from. With beautiful mountains in the background, I often thought how surreal it was that I lived in this place.

Brasilian Girl (8x10)
She is one of my favorites. I took a picture of some kids in a classroom making faces, and later I found this look on her face in the background.

Daniela (8x10)
People are surprised to see light eyes and light hair in my pictures from Brasil, but surprisingly there is a high German influence in parts of southern Brasil.

O Canal (16x20)
One of my favorite areas of Floripa is Barra da Lagoa, a fishing village  on the far east side of the island. This canal runs from the lake out to the ocean and at the end of the day is filled with fisherman unloading their catch for the day. Of course the boats and colors and uniqueness of the area caught my attention.

Barra da Lagoa (24x36)

Barra da Lagoa Canal (20x24)
The first ever painting of Barra I did in high school

Luisa (8x10)

Waiting Our Turn (24x36)
We visited a preschool one day to observe the classes and play with the kids. I clicked this picture when they were lined up outside waiting to change rooms.

Honduran Girl (8x10)
This was a commission done for a lady who took this picture in Honduras.