Issue No.22 - International Edition Polo De’Marco Magazine - International Edition | Page 81

“Historical Figures” is Azevedo’s third major
collection, and his only based on real life figures.
“I paint mostly portraits of imaginary characters
that touch me the most. I have always been
passionate about fables,” says Tiago who was
born in Portugal on Terceira Island. The lush
landscape of the terrain – part of Azores
archipelago -- triggered his early imagination
and trained his budding eye to the fantastic. “I
love the imaginary, the mystique and fantasy
inherent to them.”
The artist’s previous collections -- “Fairytales”
and “Religion” – were critical hits in the pop
surrealist art community, leading to exhibitions
at both the Louvre and Vatican. “My audience
tends to be very diversified,” Tiago says. “It
consists mainly of people who love the fantastic,
but as almost all my paintings are portraits,
sometimes people simply fall in love with the
way the painted figure looks at them, as if they
were talking to them, and curiously these are the
people who often purchase my originals simply
because they fell in love with the subject.”
The “low brow” technique has appealed to him
since he was a child -- “I spent most of my time
painting figures related to fantasy,” he explains
– but he put his art career on hold to pursue a
more stable profession: architecture. “I felt the
social pressure that art was not a profession,” he
remembers. He enrolled in Lusíada University in
Portugal, and upon graduation worked on several
major projects, including Bayerischer Hof Hotel
in Munich. “Architecture was undoubtedly
an impulse to paint,” he says, adding it was in
Germany the seeds of his childhood fascination
with fantasy began to take hold. “It was there I
became more and more in love with the original
version of fairytales, which although a little
darker, contain much more juice and matter to
work with. The Baroque and the Middle Ages
also fascinate me because of the strong contrast
and dramatic effecta.” Though he enjoyed the
artistic element of his new profession, the
experience steered him back to his true love. “I
discovered that painting was something that
was my nature,” he says. “Painting gradually
took over my life and I decided to make it a
“It is a great satisfaction to see such a
large number of people understanding the
concept behind what I create, it makes
productive profession. I am sure I made the right me feel like my mission of stimulating
decision because now feel complete for doing emotions within people has been fulfilled,”
something that is my true passion.”
the artist says.
So consumed with painting, he has taken to
teaching his technique and the form online.
His YouTube channel -- youtube.com/user/
tgoazevedo -- gives viewers lessons in painting
history, art and tutorials.