My work is sold primarily by myself, online or from my studio in Portugal, and at any number of fairs, gatherings and whatnots throughout Europe. In the GALLERY page you can find info about originals and sketches, and on the PRINTS section you will find quality reproductions when available.
In my Instagram profile I post about events and shows, new work completed or in process, the studio routine, work processes (also known as the mess), anything and everything related to what I’m wrapping my head around at the moment. There are also photographs from back when I did them, as a memento.
Let’s meet!
I’ll be very glad to make something exclusive for you, within the limits of my style and technique. The more information you give me, like size, theme or basic idea, color palette et cetera, the more you’ll be happy with the result.
If you like what you see in the Gallery and would like to own an exclusive piece by yours truly, or would like your portrait painted in oil on canvas, get in touch via the link and tell me what you have in mind. We’ll talk and I’ll tell you when I can start your piece.
Commissions take anything between 1 and 3 months between order and delivery.
See also the bit about Orders and Shipping.
It’s my pleasure to donate a set number of works each year.
Primarily I paint with oils on cotton canvas that is already prepared with about three light coats of acrylic gesso. I may apply additional coats of gesso, depending on the kind of surface texture I want to paint on.
I like Sennelier oil colours because of their rich buttery feel, and I stay with single pigments as much as I can. When I need to paint extra-quickly I use Winsor-Newton’s Griffin alkyd white. I’ve been moving steadily away from traditional media like linseed oil and turpentine, towards using Liquin, an alkyd siccative also made by Winsor-Newton.
I usually do not varnish my paintings, except for a little retouching varnish during execution when needed. I leave it to the client’s discretion: there are several pros and cons to varnishing with respect to color permanence, yellowing and maintenance.
I strongly advise you talk to your stretcher and/or framer about this issue.
Read further on the Stretching and Framing section below.
Lastly I use paper, and on it I apply oils, acrylics, china ink, charcoal, soft and oil pastels, watercolors and gouache, and any combination thereof.
Sometimes I buy stretched canvas but I much prefer buying it by the roll. I buy a 10 meter roll and cut it to whatever size I think best. Thus I’m free to use whatever weird size I fancy, but also because I ship my works rolled up inside tubes, a much safer and less expensive shipping method.
Read further on the Stretching and Framing section below.
My reproductions are made locally in Lisboa using the best printers, best papers, and the best inks available, by the best and most knowledgeable people I can find. The colors and general aspect of these prints, if they’re well cared for, will remain true for more than a century. Just make sure you don’t expose them to direct sunlight and excessive humidity and they’ll outlast us all!
My initial answer, for the sake of simplicity, is that prints are made full-size, half-, and quarter-size, depending on the work itself. But you are welcome to contact me and inquire about a specific size you want.
Use the email form and specify your request.
When you make your purchase, any additional costs for insurance, shipping and handling, and whatever is necessary, will be included in my quote for you to see.
You can always make an appointment and drop by the studio to pick your work.
Read the Ordering and Shipping section below for more.
I’ll be thrilled to know you’re interested in what I do and believe it would fit your place. I’m sure we can negotiate a sweet deal for us both. If you would like to hang a work of mine for an exhibition or show, get in touch.
NO ARTWORK OR PRINT CAN BE RESOLD WITHOUT MY WRITTEN PERMISSION.
Always happy to contribute, just get in touch!
You’re very welcome to share photography from this website on your blog, website or social media.
Please don’t forget to credit myself as author of the work, and the photographer (when credited by me).
Rights of the artist
The artist Always maintains the copyrights of the work. Even once a painting is sold or commissioned, artwork can never be reproduced or resold without my written consent. Though a collector owns a painting, they are not buying the rights to reproduce it.
Rights of the collector
The collector has rights to hang the artwork in their home or place of business, but as stated above, he must not resell or reproduce it in any way without permission.
If you wish to purchase the full rights to your artwork, send me your request using the email form and we’ll make this happen.
Color
Please read the description for each artwork carefully, and see the photographs on multiple different devices as there are significant differences between monitors, phone and tablet screens etc.
If you have further concerns about color variations, contact me so I can send you additional photographs and color data to clarify.
Read the Ordering and Shipping section below for more.
We’ve all been to art museums and were moved by the beautiful portraits of people long gone.
In our digital photography era, in which we are exposed to thousands of images each day, and in which we see our own likenesses so often, the thrill of seeing our faces is all but gone.
There is, though, a huge difference between seeing an image taken in a fraction of a second, by a machine that does everything automatically, without much commitment from the author, and another painted with pigments on a support, painstakingly realized in weeks of careful labor, planning, and involvement. Each brush stroke laid out conscious and precise, the result is on a very different level.
Those museum portraits are still done today if you want them. To commission a painting or portrait from me we need to take a few steps together.
First step, we get in touch. You tell me what you have in mind, what inspired you to commission a work, what you expect and, if you are commissioning a portrait, how you see yourself. In this chat we will get to know a bit about each other so your work will be all you imagine.
Step two, we talk business: we set the date for delivery and the budget. When we deal in painting, size and time expended make some difference, as well as media or technique employed, and sometimes even style. We will fine tune these parameters so the work gets done and we are both satisfied.
Step three, I send you a quote and an commission agreement. You sign the agreement and make the down payment. Receipt of the down payment starts the clock and the commission is undertaken.
Step four, if it’s a portrait, we choose the reference photograph from which I will draw. It needn’t be a perfect shot but it must have good colours and light, and clearly show your face. As I am also a photographer, we can make the photo ourselves if need be.
I start on the painting in earnest and make a point to keep you well up to date with photographs and messages, so you can make suggestions as we go along.
Now the painting is ready and drying on the easel: I will send you an invoice for the balance due and you pay it. As soon as the work is dry and packed I ship it to you.
And now you own something unique, exclusive and perennial to give you joy!
Shipping
Most of my pieces are shipped unmounted, that is, without the usual wooden frame on which canvas is stretched. That way I can roll the canvas or paper perfectly safe inside a rigid, heavy duty cardboard tube. Moreover, the volume and weight of the parcel are much less, and so is the cost of shipping.
The relatively few Works made on panels will have to be handled and shipped in the traditional way.
In all cases, when you buy a work I will ask a reliable courier service for a quote directly to your address.
And in all cases I will email you all the info necessary to track the shipment.
And of course, should you wish to pick up your work directly at my studio, just email me and make an appointment.
Returns
All paintings are handled with extreme care. The photographs on this website show every line, trace, drop and brushmark that are part of the finished work and tell the story of how it was made. I try to be as clear as possible when showing all about it.
For this reason, EVERY SALE IS FINAL AND THERE CANNOT BE ANY RETURNS, except in the rare instance when some damage occurs during shipping.
Please carefully read all the info about the specific work, and study the photographs (across a few different monitors and devices, as recommended above) as you decide on a purchase.
Do not forget to consult the topic “Policies and precautions” in the FAQ: there is important information about our rights.
There are several ways you can mount and frame a 2-D work of art (a print, drawing, photohraph, or a painting), depending on its size, weight, style, the specific site where it is to be shown etc. etc. and of course your personal taste.
I call “mounting” the process by which a pliable and fragile material like paper or canvas is attached to a rigid support like a panel or frame, to protect and preserve it.
I call “framing” the setting of the mounted work in a further protective and decorative structure for enhancement.
You can mount canvases of any material either in strong wooden frames or panels because they can be stretched until they are perfectly even.
Paper is generally mounted in cardboard or foam board, modern acid-free materials developed to preserve it for long periods. Although you can’t stretch paper like canvas, these panels ensure quite satisfactory evenness.
You should, on receiving the work inside the tube, contact a good framer as soon as possible so you can decide which solution works best for you.
Works on paper are usually enclosed in glass. The sooner a work in oils is stretched, or a work in charcoal or pastels is framed behind glass, the safer they’ll be.
Matt
It is a good idea in principle to place a matt (in French, “passe-partout”) around the work. It creates a “buffer” space between the image and the surrounding wall and décor, and the additional overall size lends more “presence” to the work. This is especially true for works on paper.
Top lace a matt around a print is purely an aesthetic choice, but for originals on paper do require a matt. The thickness of the matt will ensure that the protective glass does not touch the fragile surface of the paper where the the color lies, and will not “scrape” off the pigment.
Choose a matt that goes well with both the image and frame, in terms of color and style. Your gallery will be that much splendid!