Interview: Daniel Sequeira

For his solo show at Christmas Steps Gallery – his second solo show with Wells’ Andelli Art – London-based painter Daniel Sequeira has produced a new set of oil paintings and studies. Alongside a series of portraits, you’ll find some larger works that build upon some of the themes developed for his sellout 2017 show, and further explore the figure in constructed narratives.

Whether he is borrowing from comic books or Caravaggio, movies or the 19th-century Catalan painter Marià Fortuny i Marsal, Chiaroscuro or street art, breadth and depth of Daniel’s influences span centuries and cultural genres.

With references to past masters as well as contemporary culture, his paintings combine a realistic observation of the human state (both physical and emotional), with characters inhabiting theatrically imagined scenes.

Tell us a little about yourself and your art.
After initially working as a graphic designer, I left to attend a one-year academic drawing programme at the London Atelier of Representational Art, where I was shown the fundamental aspects of drawing. I had always wanted to know and hone this ability, and that really started me on the path of learning how to paint. After that, I attended different workshops as my passion for painting and my interest in the great masters grew.
There is such a wealth of painting history to draw inspiration from, and I’m constantly finding incredible painters that I wasn’t familiar with before. In addition, I have always loved comic books, illustration and movies, which all influence what I paint. Being based in London, you only need to pop on a bus to get to see some of the most impressive paintings ever created. It means I’m spoilt for choice, but that acts as a constant inspiration and motivation.

You place your characters in dramatic, theatrical backdrops… tell us the thinking here. Is each portrait intended as a small narrative? Or do you like to capture energy and movement in paint?
When I start a new painting, I have my own ideas and themes running through it. Sometimes, these can be in the form of a simple object or pose, but this can change as I paint it… I’ll find myself adding or removing items as I go along. I use this as a basis to create a narrative, but I also like to encourage some ambiguity, so that the viewer can make their own decisions on what they see.
I have always been drawn to the figure and movement, whether it’s a dynamic pose in a comic book, or from physical activities such as skateboarding or dancing. Successfully capturing this in the paint is something I strive to achieve.

The images are often semi-fantastical – what’s going on there?
Sometimes I like there to be an element of humour in a painting: a line from a movie, something I hear someone say on the street or just imagined ideas can influence the work. For example, I overheard the bizarre end of someone’s story “He burst in and ran away with a side of gammon”. That sort of thing sticks with you. I still want to make that painting…

Daniel Sequeira’s Pop-Up Show is at the Christmas Steps Gallery from October 23-28. For more information, visit www.danielsequeira.com and www.andelliart.com