Augusto Peixoto describes himself as a photo manipulator, but his deviantArt gallery also displays photography, web design, web interfaces, and commercial art. To top everything off, he’s also the drummer in two metal bands. Thirty-six years old, male, and living in Porto, Portugal he describes the city as “the ideal city for an art lover to get inspiration from,” a mix of misery, melancholy, joy, and life which he reflects in his work. His website mentions his admiration for artists such as Travis Smith, Misha Gordin and poet Luis de Camoes.
Using photographs he has taken himself or stock photos Peixoto creates original digital paintings that are strongly emotional. A large percentage of Peixoto’s subject matter is trees, which in and of themselves have always held a special captivation for me. He plays with the lines, textures, and colours already in his subjects and creates something new. Even with a muted colour palette he manages to create powerful images; however, when he does use colour beautiful movement revealed. Peixoto uses light in interesting and creative ways, which may seem ironic considering the dark feelings seen in many of his pieces. This darkness conveyed through lone trees, crows, vultures, and subdued colours are not things I would normally be drawn to. His talent and the beauty of Peixoto’s work is undeniable though and that is something I can appreciate.
The things I admire most about these pieces are the colours, lines, and most of all the textures. I love the way his texture turns the image into a painting instead of just another nice digital picture. In his work I see a lot of textures and shadows I would love to use in my work. I am drawn to the way you can look at the image and get an immediate emotional response, but if you take the time to look more closely there is so many more intricacies and detail in the design.
For more info on Augusto Peixoto or to see more of his work visit his website at http://irondoomdesign.no.sapo.pt/main.html or check out his deviantArt profile at http://irondoomdesign.deviantart.com/.
