Master of the Three Ws

A Conversation With Marcelo Daldoce,
Celebrating Women, Wine and Words on Canvas

For Marcelo Daldoce, a mostly self-taught artist from São Paulo, Brazil, the maxim “bigger is better” definitely applies.

His preference for large-scale paintings (mostly on 98-inch-tall-by-49-inch-wide canvases) has resulted in a series of simultaneoulsy imposing and enchanting nude female portraits. Size, in this case, matters. But it’s not just size that will have you gawking. His unique style—influenced by such disparate artists as John Singer Sargent and Jackson Pollock, shaped also by his own experience as an illustrator—yields lively, seemingly three-dimensional celebrations of the female form, accentuating the sensual, hinting at the erotic. His paintings, many of which are inspired by his girlfriend (and muse) Ali, combine realistic-yet-idealized lines and figures with playful splatters of paint, fluid brushstrokes and vibrant-yet-soft fanciful colors.

Daldoce’s portraitures evoke the essence of vintage pin-up artwork and echo elements of pop art. The latter impression can be attributed to the artist’s recurrent employment of words, as characters in their own right, in much of his work—perhaps the most visible way in which his “day job” influences his paintings. And Daldoce’s mastery of typography is immediately evident and unfailingly effective, his integration of words and phrases—sometimes nonsensical, others meaningful—always create another layer of suggestiveness, along with adding a distinctive stamp, to his portraits.

And while Daldoce is certainly adept with either watercolors or acrylics on his brush, it is another more unconventional medium that sets him apart, and what first brought him to my attention. Daldoce paints with wine. Yes, wine! He’s completed a series featuring his iconic female portraits using a variety of varietals—a different type of wine, from Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon to Chardonny (though he seems to prefer reds, and I couldn’t agree more), for each one. He also painted the portraits of four famous Brazilian sommeliers using wine to accompany an article in one of the country’s largest newspapers, Folha de São Paulo. Daldoce has also recently embarked on a new series of wine paintings. While the technique is unique, it is the amazing outcome that make his wine paintings noteworthy. Here’s the YouTube video that alerted me to this virtuoso (Bukowski would be proud, as long as a majority of the wine was consumed by the painter and not the painting, and Daldoce assured me that was indeed the case):

Marcelo Daldoce, who held a solo exhibition in a New York gallery in 2007 and one in Brazil the following year, is currently preparing for a show of his wine work in July. On the threshold of a major breakthrough, the 29-year-old artist recently took time to discuss the roots of his creativity, the inspiration for his ingenious work, his process and style, the struggles of balancing the demands of his job and his desire to paint, his ambition to improve, and much more with The Madness of Art.

MOA: How long have you been painting? When did you first realize you were an artist—or that you had the creative bug?

MARCELO: I first realized I was okay at drawing when I was a little kid, but I never thought about pursuing it until high school, where at a friends suggestion I started going to an art specialty school. I guess it was then that I realized I could make a living with art. Soon I dropped out and stayed home to paint all day on my own.

MOA: You work as an illustrator in the advertising industry in Brazil. Does your “day job” influence your painting, or vice versa? Are there more similarities or differences in these two worlds that you inhabit?

MARCELO: Illustration for advertising is full of rules. The art director, the creative director, and the client all judge your work constantly. Everything you do seems like plastic, without heart or emotion.

MOA: Speaking of your “day job,” do you find that it zaps your creative energy and lessen your desire to paint on your personal time? If so, how do kick start your artistic engine? (If that’s not the case, what advice would you give to those artists who might find themselves in that predicament?)

MARCELO: It doesn’t matter what you do, there is always the feeling that you are limited by rules. It’s hard not to let this affect your private works; you have to try not to let your personal paintings turn sterile, like an advertisement.

Relying On
Obsession & Passion

A lot of us in advertising would rather make a living off selling our own personal works, and we suffer because of that. You need to be disciplined and push yourself to paint and draw after work, even when you’re so tired that you just want to go to bed. On the weekends you rely on obsession and passion to get the paintings done that you couldn’t stay awake to finish during the week.

MOA: One of the unique attributes of your paintings is the inclusion of words. How did that idea come about? How would you describe your style?

MARCELO: Before I was an illustrator, I worked in an ad agency in art direction. You get to know the importance of typography and fonts in that department. I developed a real love for letters like this. And also the words on the canvases just kind of happened. I’d like to describe my style as Sargent’s watercolors trying to look like Jackson Pollock with some nonsensical words sprinkled on top.

MOA: Do you paint in a particular place or setting? Do you keep a rigid schedule, or do you paint whenever inspiration strikes? Are you more inclined to work on your paintings during the day or at night? Do you listen to music when you’re painting, and if so, what?

MARCELO: I paint in my apartment, usually at my office desk, or if it’s really big, in the guest bedroom. I never keep a particular schedule. I’m lucky because I have my own illustration studio with two friends. When we aren’t busy, we can all paint and draw for ourselves at work. I always listen to music when I paint, right now I’m into Fleet Foxes, and other sorts of folk rock.

MOA: Describe the genesis of your paintings: How do you come up with ideas? Do your paintings start with just a basic, general idea that develops as you work or do you see more fully formed concepts before you begin? Do you ever struggle to come up with a new idea? What sparks your creative fire?

MARCELO: I don’t have any rules about my creative process. Sometimes it’s just a sketch that turns into something more. Other times I know from the start exactly what I will do. I always want to have new ideas and find my own style of painting, and that’s really what sparks me.

MOA: You seem to have a preference for large canvases. What do you like about having such a large blank slate to work with? Is there anything intimidating or daunting prior to beginning a painting, as a huge empty canvas beckons? Does your process or subject matter differ depending on the size of the canvas?

MARCELO: A BIG canvas has more visual impact. It fills your eyes; it’s not just a painting the size of a piece of paper. The thing that can be difficult while painting them is you need to look from far away to see the whole picture and up close to see the details.

The first couple canvases were scary: I didn’t know where to start! Today, the main issues I have to think about are what I will actually paint and what size to make it. I really prefer doing big canvases—even if they take three times longer.

MOA: Once you have an idea, what’s next? Describe your process.

MARCELO: I sketch like crazy, and then I pick which sketches have the most potential. Then I sketch again with more detail. Finally, if it’s really big, I use a projector to lightly trace my final drawing onto the canvas. If it’s smaller, I sketch it on by hand before painting.

MOA: How long does it take to complete one of your paintings? Do some come easier than others? How do you deal with and overcome any creative blocks?

MARCELO: It depends. A big canvas can take a week, a lot of which is spent waiting for layers of paint to dry. For a small painting, it takes a couple days. Usually I have such a detailed plan before I start painting that there isn’t any room for creative blocks. Before I start, I already know exactly what I will do.

MOA: The subject of much of your work is the female form. Beyond the obvious, what do you enjoy about painting nude women? Any particular message you hope to convey? Are you painting anyone in particular, or are you working from your imagination?

MARCELO: There is nothing super-deep here, I just like the way women look. I love to paint the female body, especially my girlfriend’s. She has one of the most amazing bodies I have ever seen, and that comes in handy (she wrote that), but usually I do a little blend of her and girls I find online.

MOA: You’re work has appeared in Folha de São Paulo as well as several magazines, including Playboy. How did these opportunities come about, and have they resulted in more exposure for your work? Do you feel more pressure or less freedom when working on something for a publication?

MARCELO: Folha and Playboy were opportunities I got through my friend Bebel. She knows everybody in the magazines and newspapers here in Brazil. Other gigs I get by showing my body of work to editors, etc. I enjoy these kinds of jobs MUCH more [than illustration work for advertisements] because there is so much more creative freedom. The exposure is better for me too because it’s me signing the painting, not some advertising agency.

Folha and other publications provide a general idea: I draw some basic sketches of what the text says, and I always try to do at least one sketch with something new and not usual. Playboy is different: they let me be free to do what I want, but I still send them some sketches before I begin to paint.

MOA: Your recently started a new series called Watercolor News. What was the motivation behind using current events as the basis for paintings? You also use acrylics; which do you prefer: watercolors or acrylics?

MARCELO: The idea behind painting current events was that I’d be obligated to paint watercolor three times a week, like homework. Acrylic and watercolor can be used to similar effects, but acrylic takes more time to dry and is better to work with on canvas.

MOA: Speaking of types of paints, you paint with a substance I’ve never seen used before I discovered your Charles Bukowski piece: WINE! You also have an entire series using different varietals of wine. How did you start painting with wine? How’s it different from traditional paints? I’m assuming you’re a wine lover, so I hope you’re using the cheap stuff for painting, and the good stuff for drinking.

MARCELO: It was sort of by accident that I started painting in wine. One night I was drinking wine while painting, and I spilled a little on the paper. I liked the result, so I went from there. I just recently started studying wine, the history, tasting, and the mythology associated with it. It’s pretty fascinating. I learned that wine is alive, constantly mutating. Each bottle is unique regardless of where it’s produced or what year. I have to keep this in mind when painting with it, because you never really know how the wine will look until you test it. It’s not like with paint where you can depend on it to look a certain way. I like to say that when I paint in wine I need one glass for painting and the rest for drinking—and because of this, I usually paint with decent wine.

MOA: What’s your favorite varietal? Is that because you enjoy using it to “paint”? Or because you enjoy drinking it? Or both? Do different varietals work better than others on canvas?

MARCELO: Disagreeing with Miles from the movie “Sideways,” I like Merlot—intensely fruited and after it has dried on the canvas becomes blue and purple. Pinot is also great, intensive flavor and is red and magenta on the canvas. Any kind of wine works very well on the canvas, and each one is a particular color tone. Bordeaux, for example, is a little bit brown. The only problem, and I’m having this problem especially in Brazil, is the weather needs to be dry, or the wine will never dry on the canvas.

Drink or paint? Of course, drinking is better.

MOA: Who are your favorite artists? Do any particular painters, writers, musicians, filmmakers inspire and/or influence you and your work? How so?

MARCELO: My favorite artists change year to year; I like finding new artists and studying the old masters, too. I have been keeping books of Pollock, Wyeth, Sargent, and Bacon on my desk consistently so far this year. I like to look through them and imagine how these guys began a painting, and when they thought they were done.

MOA: I think a lot of artists question, at some point, whether his or her work is any good. How critical are you of your own work, and do you have an immediate sense of the quality of the piece you’re painting? How do you combat any self-doubt?

MARCELO: I’m super-critical of myself. Sometimes I look at a painting of mine and think it looks like “sheet” and somebody else thinks it looks super-cool. I know I have improved a lot over the past two years, but I also know in 10 or 20 years I will be better. I know I have a ways to go before I get to the best that I can do.

MOA: What advice do you have for aspiring artists?

MARCELO: Stop spending time looking at other people’s paintings and thinking they are better than yours, and start spending time working on your own projects. Make your own way.

MOA: What do you love most about being an artist? Any frustrations?

MARCELO: I just need a blank canvas, some brushes and paint to do what I want. Frustrations? At the moment, maybe balancing time between advertising jobs and my painting time.

MOA: What does art mean to you?

MARCELO: The nice way: it’s a way to express what you do and think. But right now, realistically: $.

MARCELO DALDOCE ON THE WEB
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