See the first stroke as a start and everything after that a recovery. Nathan Oliveira More Quotes by Nathan Oliveira More Quotes From Nathan Oliveira The gesture must be correct. If the gesture is correct, your mind really creates the reality of the figure, and it is not necessary to hang on all the rest [of the details]. Nathan Oliveira details mind reality Though I have considerable interest in Europe and in traveling, I am most content with simply working and allowing the world that I'm creating to unfold before my eyes. Nathan Oliveira creating eye europe I had the desire to paint the figure without actually painting the figure. Nathan Oliveira painting paint desire For me, painting is that magical material, that beautiful stuff that was invented, the ground-up pigments in oil which makes it very malleable. It can be manipulated and changed, darkened, lightened, given different hues and colors, so that by manipulating this material somehow I can find that figure I'm looking for, that figure that represents all the issues I'm bringing up and addressing. Nathan Oliveira issues oil beautiful What I'm concerned about now is creating a metaphor for what the figure really is. Nathan Oliveira creating metaphor figures I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and tradition than in inventing a unique imagery. Nathan Oliveira unique artist ideas If a figure doesn't look back at you, you forget it. Nathan Oliveira portraiture forget looks