Samuela Dsouza- Author & Artist
This tree was painted several years ago. It was actually the very first time I had bought a canvas, so it was really special, and marked the start of several more to come.
This was my attempt at a new style. I struggled a little with the texture of the waterfall, but then managed to capture the illusion of motion through many little dots of white and blue. I wanted to capture that cartoony, immersive feel old animated movies had (like Brother Bear :))
I finished this painting at the start of 2024. It was the first time I tried animal realism. Its the first in a trilogy of animal still-life: "Big Cats."
The second painting in the trilogy, "Big Cats." Honestly, texture here was a big thing for me; getting the lion's mane right took me about 20 layers :(
But it was still a lot of fun! :)
The third and final painting of the "Big Cats" trilogy. Painting a jaguar was a recommendation from my friend, and I really loved how the finished piece turned out.
This is a drawing I did at the start of 2024. Pirates kept popping up on my ForYou Page, so I looked at inspo pics and drew this gorgeous pirate who'll steal both your heart and your gold!
A recent (Around March 2024) undertaking is this graphite deer I drew.
Its a blend of realism (the deer's head) and fantasy (antlers and flowers).
I wanted the eyelashes to really pop (you'd be surprised at the length of those things) like in my inspo pic, and the flowers to add a sort of mystical vibe to the whole thing.
These drawings are deeply personal to me. On the left is my grandmother from my mother's side and on the right my grandmother from my father's. I moved to NZ several years ago, and had started drawing my friends and family for fun; unfortunately I could not send over any drawings of my grandmothers since they live in India, so when I went back last year for a visit (2023), I jumped at the opportunity!
I wanted to give them something to remember me by in those hours between Facetimes and their normal lives, and to show them how much they mean to me. (These drawings are now framed and happily sitting on a shelf/wall in their houses :))
These are 4 of my paintings, put up in the 'Land and Seas' art gallery in Devonport.
The large one at the top I titled Fantasy Forest. It took me half a year to paint it, believe it or not.
The ships are in a set of 3. The order of the paintings (from the left) are Moonrise, Sunrise, and Midnight.
I think I was inspired by the canvas types, to be honest, because I knew I wanted to make one concrete place spread out between the three canvases, so I settled on 3 different ships in 3 different positions in a single section of the sea at different times.
This was a fun experience, I loved all the other art there too; check it out of you have time or visit Devonport on your NZ trip (if you live outside the country).
The "Big Cats" Trilogy is available for sale directly from me.
They are being sold as individuals, or the full set.
Contact me here to register your interest in all (or one) of them with the email heading, "Big Cats": authorartistsam7@gmail.com