Art: Amazing portraits by artist Mario Henrique (03)

Today I would like to share with you some paintings of this wonderful and very talented artist Mario Henrique. Really love his elegant, refined artworks, his spontaneous brush strokes and color choices. Hope I can inspire you too ..... At the end I added a video of Mario where you can see how he builds up a painting on canvas. This is a serie of 4 blogs about this interesting artist. For more, SEE HERE Be Inspired .......

Quote by Mario: I try to be fast and spontaneous when I’m painting - that process should be reflected in the final piece. The observer should be able to infer the physicality of the painting process when looking at the brush strokes and paint drippings.

When I throw paint, I can do it with some premeditation - but I can never really predict where the paint will actually fall on the canvas. So, my approach to painting is - in part - based on chance, on small random accidents; it doesn’t rely exclusively on my persistence or my technique. That’s why I don’t feel completely responsible for my paintings - in the sense that, although I can answer for my initial intentions, the final result is always something that I could never anticipate, and something that’s out of my absolute control.  

Mario Henrique

More about the painter: Mario Henrique is an artist based in Cascais, Portugal. Graduated in Design from Lisbon’s University of Fine Arts, he started his career in online marketing and web development agencies. As a creative director, he recruited and led teams in Portugal, Spain and Brazil. A decade later, he would shift his focus to contemporary painting, which had always been a parallel interest.

A prolific portraitist, Mario is fascinated by the unpredictability of the human behaviour: the brief glances, the impermanence of facial expressions, the sudden movements. Making use of uncommon and “rough” materials, like cardboards, reversed canvases and hardware tools, he paints abruptly and spontaneously. His approach relies on drippings, splashes and paint throws, so that the physicality of the painting process is transparent in the final piece. Listed in various private collections across Europe, America and Asia, he has exhibited in galleries both locally and abroad, and was awarded an Honourable Mention for his participation in the Brasília Biennial of Contemporary Arts 2016. He was also featured in Saatchi Art’s Inside The Studio and is currently represented by the Bill Lowe Gallery, ArtCatto and Tilsitt Gallery amongst other prestigious galleries. Mario owns a studio/gallery at the Marina, in Cascais (Portugal), where some of his paintings are publicly exhibited. For more information, see the enclosed links below.

Short video of Mario Henrique at his studio creating an acrylic and oil painting on canvas.
Thank you for reading this blogpost. Sources: Mario Henrique and Instagram
Note: these photos have been placed with permission of the artist (22-08-2022).