ARTWORK - PAINTING & DRAWING

Humanity’s plight is a concept artists have been examining for a long time, and one that comes to life through my recent collections. Although this is a theme commonly explored by various artists, I believe there is something uniquely fresh about my work. My large abstract penumbra paintings, as well as the angel and the self-portrait series, tend to extreme mystical darkness or scream with shouting, electric colours. My classical portraits and life drawings are serene and subtle.

ABSTRACTS - PENUMBRA

Mysterious colour effects. Based on dusk, represent the phosphorescence that can be obtained by using a finely tuned dark colour palette. The results are optically and conceptually ravishing, light pouring out of darkness.

The pictures shown here belong to a series of 20 oil paintings that were exhibited in Montreal with the support of the Portuguese Embassy at Ottawa. These diptychs and triptychs measure 2m high. Some are permanently exhibited in the main office of the company Bonjour Montreal and also in private art collections in Japan.

In 2010 a new Penumbra piece was developed for the contemporary art museum Centro das Artes - Casa das Mudas. This artwork consists of two canvases measuring 1.5 x 5 metres each. A dark canvas representing water and a pale one portraying fire, the two natural disasters that have destroyed parts of the island in 2010.

Cromaticum_Madeira.jpg	nelson-ferreira-penumbra-painting-blue-g	nelson-ferreira-penumbra-tryptic-paintin
nelson-ferreira-penumbra-tryptic-paintin	nelson-ferreira-penumbra-painting-cobalt	nelson-ferreira-penumbra-tryptic-paintin
nelson-ferreira-penumbra-painting-cobalt	nelson-ferreira-penumbra-painting-blue-g	nelson-ferreira-penumbra-painting-blue-g
nelson-ferreira-penumbra-abstract-painti

THE ANGEL SERIES / ICONOGRAPHY

Human Closeness observes human nature in day to day life. Through this collection, I attempt to provide a fresh set of eyes through which to critically observe what is now thought of as common elements of life. I invite my fans to question and redefine their assumptions about contemporary society in order to become more connected to different cultures and beliefs in an increasingly disconnected world. These icons were painted as part of my research about Eastern Europe and Mediaeval Art. I've used authentic techniques from Greece, Russia and Flanders, including egg tempera, authentic rizas (oklads) and gilding with 24 carat gold, platinum and palladium. I became a member of the British Association of Iconographers and was offered a place for PhD at the Prince's Foundation. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE IT FULLY:

Virgin of Sorrows	Virgin of Sorrows Flemish	Pantocrator Greek
Mother and Child Russian	Pantocrator

Artwork: Collections

LIFE DRAWING / PORTRAITS

I always like to keep my work fresh and creative, and mastering classical techniques is a prime example of my inspiration to stay relevant and innovative. Creating this collection was a blast, and I pushed my artistic abilities towards new interests. If you'd like to see more, be in touch or come to one of my exhibitions. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE IT FULLY:

Socrates cast drawing_edited	Desenho a partir do modelo (Ian) Carvao	Tom
Filomena	Carla Nitram charcoal gouache	Maria charcoal drawing
Cast_Drawing_Hand	Bargue

ARTIST RESIDENCY AT MNAC
PORTUGAL'S NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART

In 2021, I became the first associate artist of MNAC - Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea. This is the world's first national museum dedicated to the contemporary arts, having been created in 1911. It is such an honour to have been chosen for its first residency ever. I decided to pay homage to the great classical masters on display at the museum's sculpture garden. These studies were painted from life, in watercolour, without any drawing underneath. I've used granulating colours to obtain extreme textures rarely seen with watercolours.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE IT FULLY: