Autor: Israel Da Costa - Serra da Carnaíba | Publicado: 2011-09-25T21:33:00-07:00

                                                                                                                                               The big bird। Oil on canvas। 200x170cm। 1989Israel Da Costa, January 24, l969, in the city of Quijingue, Bahia, northeastern Brazil. Today is an artist, Brazilian painter.Born   into a family of evangelical Christians, the first son of  Valdemar   Martins de Oliveira, farmer. Having grandparents José Martins  de   Oliveira and Alexandrina Maria de Jesus, the mother of the artist    Lourivaldo da Costa Oliveira, who was the daughter of Paulo Celestino da    Costa, farmer and political Alzenor Celestina de Abreu.He spent  the  first years of life on a farm of his maternal  grandfather Paulo   Celestino da Costa, the District of Tatu, the city of  Quijingue,   adjacent to Euclides da Cunha, near the place where the  armed revolt of   Canudos, in which followers of Antonio Conselheiro  faced armed forces   one of the bloodiest conflicts have occurred in  Brazil.In the mid   70's, the artist's family moved to the small town of  Filadelfia,  State  of Bahia, on the trip saw it and put the images in  memory and  some time  later reproduced in the drawings, were the first  works of  the future  artist .In the early '80s, due to financial difficulties  he was  facing his  father became a dealer in emeralds, influenced by  the news of  the  discovery of a deposit of emeralds in Goias, his  family moved to a  town  in the savannah near a mining emeralds, where  his family began to  earn  a living.In l986, he traveled to Sao  Paulo, where he visited  the MASP, Museu  de Arte de Sao Paulo, visits  to museums were frequent,  there came into  contact with works of  masters such as; Portinari, Di  Cavalcanti,  Renoir, Gauguin, Van Gogh,  Monet , Manet, Degas, Picasso,  Miro,  Salvador Dali, among others. Life  in the metropolis was difficult  for a  young man without resources,  who spent most of his time in seeing   works of art.Returning to Rio  de Janeiro, was inspired by the great  masters he  had known in  museums, had within it the idea of becoming an  artist of  color, when  he painted his first pictures, a few copies of the  masters  who had met  in museums. Began drawing, using gouache,  watercolor and  finally  after the oil painting.Israel Da Costa, again  traveled to Sao Paulo  in l987, staying first  at the home of his uncle  Levi Celestino da  Costa, after the home of  his aunt Eloy Celestino da  Costa, sister of  his mother. It was the  habit of drawing the artist  while traveling  through the city.In Sao Paulo, enrolled in the  course of drawing  and painting at the  School Pan American Art, dividing  his time between  art school, or  visiting museums, galleries and artists'  studios, was  frequent visitor  to the MASP, and arrived copy the design  of some  works.Also attended classes in drawing and painting of the French Colette Pujol, academic painter of French descent.Lessons   of Pan-American School and visits to the workshops served  to add some   style to the technique of the future artist, since that  time has   developed a unique style.At eighteen the young artist had to leave   the city of Sao Paulo,  there was more to stay there. The amount of  money  his father sent him  the mining of emeralds of Goiás was getting  short,  you could not pay  the bills and buy materials for painting, I  could not  continue his  studies in Sao Paulo.In l989, he attended  the Art Salon  of Anapolis, with two paintings  that have evoked a  unique style. That  same year held an exhibition in  honor of Salvador  Dalí, at the time of  his death.In l990, held a solo exhibition at Itau-Gallery, in Sao Paulo. That same year participated in the XXIV GREMI of Inhumas, Goiás.That time travel to Goiânia and Brasília, were frequent.In the year l994, performs a solo exhibition at the Cultural Telemig, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais.In   the year l996, held a solo exhibition at Gallery Frei Confalone  in   Goiânia, Goiás, where he showed pictures produced between the years   l994  to 1995.Art Basel 2009. Portraits of Elaine Lancaster | FROM INGÉNUE TO MUSE. Miami Art Space Florida. USA.