When watercolorist Daniela Werneck has models over for a photoshoot, she takes as many pictures as she can while they’re simply relaxing and talking with her. During these moments, the artist isn’t worried about composition or pose, but rather, capturing the genuine facial expressions and body language of her subjects. After the session, she takes as much time as she needs going over every photo.
Flair, watercolor on Aquabord, 8 x 8"“I have been a romantic and an art lover since I was a child,” says Werneck. “My art is innocent, romantic and pure. [It] conveys a feeling of freedom and hope to the public. Just like fairytales, my paintings tend to speak to the public, tell stories and portray an emotional narrative, revealing feelings and thoughts.”
Home, watercolor on Aquabord, 36 x 18"
Werneck was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, surrounded by Portuguese relatives. After getting married, she moved to Australia and lived there for three years, before settling in Texas in 2011. During her adolescence, Werneck attended private drawing classes, where she gained her artistic foundation. However, she considers herself a self-taught watercolor artist.
“As an artist, I am constantly influenced by my personal background, whether by my Portuguese family, my simple childhood in a poor and tropical country, my life as an immigrant or being a foster mother—the reason why my artistic career started a few years ago,” says Werneck. “All these experiences have made me a humbler person with a more sensitive outlook on life, and these experiences tend to impact what I expect from my paintings and their emotional narrative.”
Revoada (diptych), watercolor on Aquabord, 24 x 24” total
Saudade, watercolor on Aquabord, 12 x 24"
In a recent work by the artist titled Saudade, a woman rests on a table, her gaze directed gently at the viewer. “An untranslatable word to any language, ‘saudade’ is a feeling of longing, melancholy or nostalgia that is supposedly characteristic of the Portuguese or Brazilian temperament,” says Werneck. “Although sadness is a big part of saudade, you can also feel happy as well. It’s a very complex emotion. You’re sad that someone is gone (whether they’re dead, moved away or even just not here right now), but you also feel happy for the good times you spent together. It’s a feeling that is always related to someone, or something, or to a time that we would love to have or experience again.”
Werneck is represented by RJD Gallery in Romeo, Michigan. —
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