Late Birthday, Early Christmas with Ninhol

While I can't say when I started following Ninhol on Facebook and admiring his artistry, I can pinpoint it was between liking the pages of Steve Martin and Bored Panda. I was immediately drawn to the vibrant colors, striking against the black lines and not a single space of white. Most of his paintings are done this way in fact.  On one hand, it goes against what little I know about art, where white space is sometimes the most important aspect. On the other hand, like great art, his paintings remind me of people, places and moments I hold dear. For example, my mom used to read me the story Rain Makes Applesauce, a non-sensical story filled with odd-end imaginative figures like monkeys eating chimney smoke. Ninhol's art reminds me of this: pages filled with detail and character, being read in the security of my mom's lap. He also reminds me of my childhood (and adult) obsession of filling in my pictures with full, even color. I never did like drawing outside the lines: an early sign of anal retention, I'm sure. 

At any rate, I loved the art and announced to Mark we should track this guy down once we arrived to Brazil and eventually buy one of his works. He went ahead without me and commissioned a piece for my birthday and Christmas gift. That was in September. By December, the artwork was completed and shipped to our home. Mark was so excited to give it to me, he didn't bother wrapping it. He proudly showed me the art in the kitchen while I was elbow deep in dishwater.

I stared at it: a familiar scene of two children and a woman, surrounded by daisies. Mark sent Ninhol a picture of us in similar form for him to work with, and the results were simply beautiful. My only disappointment was Mark's declination to be in the painting. He explained to me this was because he wanted me to pretend he was the photographer/painter- seeing his family as he sees us everyday. That man really does have a romantic side. I routinely look at the picture when I am chasing the kids with the vacuum, wiping up thrown spilled food, reading Richard Scarry books for the millionth time, or the rare moment of stillness in my house... it fits right into my life. 

Doting on my children, in art and in real life.
They've got me trained.
And no, my hair never looks this good.

A little bit about the artist- he's an expert of Pernambuco art and context. (Pernambuco being one of the 26 states of Brazil and is where we live.) If my research is correct Ninhol is from Olinda, a city with a phenomenal cultural reputation (especially known for Carnaval), representing northeast Brazil. Having a knack for bright colors, expressive scenes and historical context, he drew attention across the country with images of stacked apartments and homes, scenes of local neighborhoods, religious icons, dancers, and lovers. He's done artwork found Antarctica beer cans, a Brazilian beer brand (owned by Anheuser-InBev) and more than once has been sought after, create anything from Moleskine sized paintings to murals. Ninhol has a pretty good gig going.

To celebrate the New Year and his Facebook-following reaching 1500, Ninhol announced a raffle to receive a painting. It's a gorgeous painting of a woman and child, filled to the brim with, well everything... so until January 15, 2015, fans of his art can do the following steps to enter: 1. Like his FB page and, 2. Like and share the contest post (from December 31, 2014) to spread the word. So easy- and who knows? A little Brazilian artwork is always fun!

Now part of the permanent Schlink collection.