Color me intrigued

Bursting with vibrance and movement, Brazilian painter Eudes Correia’s paintings highlight how art thrives in the ordinary.

Watercolor as a medium is best known for its use in painting landscapes or scenes meant to be viewed from far away. In contrast, Brazilian painter Eudes Correia chooses to — literally — paint us a more intimate picture: a portrait, vibrant with expression and movement. What makes the difference much starker is that Correia chooses his subjects not from among the bright and gilded celebrities or widely known personalities, but from everyday people.

Curious, we sat down with Eudes Correia before his demo at the Art Bar Art Fair to understand his approach.

Supreme: How do you choose what to paint? What is the greatest influence on your art? 

Eudes Correia: I’m much like other people. I’m an ordinary person. I’m heavily influenced by my life, both the past and what I witness in my day to day. Everywhere I go has also had some influence on my art. Personally, as a Christian, I veer away from painting violence. My ethics as a person greatly influence what I choose to portray.

Regarding your art, what do you think it aims to say?

What I try to demonstrate through my art is the person — or a person — as he or she is. Things, objects, are not my priority. People are.

What you’d like to capture, then, is their essence?

Yes. Usually, people are attracted to a certain standard that celebrities typically possess; other times, it’s beautiful objects. I want to show instead that ordinary people, at their simplest, living their day-to-day lives, can also be transformed into art. That it is art.

How do you feel your art has evolved over time?

I’ve tried different mediums and have studied extensively, but since the beginning, I’ve always been attracted to portraits — it was just a matter of finding a subject.

When you start a new painting, do you just immediately get to work? What’s your process?

Not everything I see, I paint. I determine first what I would like to capture then go from there.

Does your choice of materials have any bearing on the quality of your output?

I use Winsor & Newton paints, which can be found here (at Art Bar), as I am one of its brand ambassadors. I’m lucky in that regard, as their selection is not limiting. I try to use everything that I can get from them.

What themes do you pursue, or would like to pursue further in your art? Do you have a dream project?

I enjoy what I do now and I do prefer to look at what every day has to show. There is always something interesting to see, even in the littlest of details. I like to capture that individuality in my art. My goal is to continue — to keep making people who aren’t typically “seen” become noticed. These are usually people who clean, workers smoking on the side of the street, those sorts of things. I want to focus on painting people for what they are and not what they seem to be.

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