《Milena’s Poultry》(31 1/2 x 23 1/2 in)

By Clodoaldo Martins 

Humanity & Culture Award

Martins works with a traditional style with oils, and relies completely on his imagination. There is no formula, he says, it’s just original.

“The history of this painting is related to where I grew up, my past, my adolescence,” the Brazilian painter said. One day, he visited his mother-in-law and saw in the backyard a simple and small corner with lovely light, and it reminded him of a painting he had seen before. He made some sketches to save the moment, and when he saw it again with the birds and an 11-year-old girl, it caught his attention.

 “To make this kind of painting, you don’t have the control. More so if you work with children, because they can’t keep calm, and you lose a lot of expressions.”

“I worked with a lot of difficulty,” Martins said of his oil painting “Milena’s Poultry.” He had to quickly take into account the many movements of the birds and the young girl. Yes, it would have been easier to work in a studio with a model, or even from a photograph, but it would not have been the same.