Duma Arantes 1973 | Lisbon | Fashion painter

Duma lives and works in Oeiras, Portugal where she studied advertising in IADE -Visual Arts, Design Marketig Institute and also Painting and Drawing at the National Society of Fine Arts, in Lisbon. “The feminine figure is something natural in my work, it’s like a piece of me represented in each canvas. I like to show to the viewer just a little piece of the full scene. I like to leave space for the viewer’s imagination. In each frame there is an unlimited universe of actions, thoughts and emotions, each character shows us just a little bit of its personality, it’s like a frozen frame of a movie or a camera shot of a moment. I was always very attracted to represent the human shape, particularly portraits. However, the kind of portrait I want to convey, is not of anyone in particular, I don’t want to provide a specific identity, I just want to represent an overall feeling of femininity. By taking away the eyes, I surround the character in mystery, making it more abstract, forcing the viewer to create a story around it. That’s complemented with the framing. I choose and a simple and clear background. Each one allows the viewer to use his imagination and provides a unique and individual experience of the painting. I have a very graphic, clean, soft, but at the same time strong, simple style, very influenced by graphic design, digital illustration, photography, fashion and the simple fact of being a woman” - Duma.