Dave Correia

Dave Correia is an American Artist, who partly runs the company Zero Friends, along side Alex Pardee. 

I find Correia's work to have a very distinct style, one that can't really be confused with many others and this works greatly in his favour. His style encompasses very delicate paint work, and usually is usually very figure based, them being the centre of the attention and the main focus of the piece. I wouldn't say Correia's work is an example of new techniques with regards to painting, however, it is clear to see that he has been heavily influenced by comic books, video games and horror books, which are very popular in his pieces with regards to content and style. He is also able to play the harsh comic book style down well with his soft pastel colours which contrast with his content so well, making them seem more "delightfully dead" rather then gory and non-aesthetically pleasing.

 

Although Correia's work could well pass as digital work, his workflow actually consists of traditional methods. His immense attention to detail enables him to provide a both life-like and fantasy explosion of textured and deep images depicting all manner of shocking yet beautiful imagery, all brought together by outstanding colour schemes. He doesn't seem to have any boundaries when it comes to what he paints, as he doesn't seem to have a set theme of what to create other than including the heavily detailed skin/fabric, which shows rolls and creases so well. 

I feel as though researching through Correia's work has definitely influenced me to start drawing and painting more traditionally,

mainly because I think I can achieve a bit more control over my traditional work, and sometimes using only digital workflow can hinder my concentration and I would be more likely to get sidetracked with other ideas. Another aspect I really love about Correia's work, and what I would like to apply to my own, would be his use of symmetry and using that aspect to fill in space that would otherwise be left untouched.

 I have a habit of creating rather strong figures in my work, but then lack largely in my attempts at backgrounds and scenery, and this is also something I would like to focus on in the future.