Their presence is implied. They built anti-gravity structures out of shopping carts, stacked newspapers and plywood. They had hung clothes and scattered crushed beer cans across the surface, but the real subject of Alvaro Nadio’s painting had never been seen. Within the precarious rubbish heap (rendered in meticulous detail) suggests adaptability and forward momentum. Some of the structures are mobile and stacked high on scooters or food carts, others feature multiple rooms and repurposed electronic equipment. Although Nadio has worked in the advertising world for decades, he generally looks unfamiliar, but his work is based on things that are instantly recognizable: the Coca-Cola logo, an In-N-Out burger, a box of Frosted Flakes. It’s a surreal portrait of a once-familiar world – a dystopian existence. This is a warning if we pay attention.
Naddeo works with a multi-step process, starting with the abstract and ending with the page. “I’m self-taught, so I’ve been developing a process over the last decade or so,” he explains. The system is fluid and can be added and subtracted. Currently, Nadio is experimenting with airbrushes, which may or may not be a permanent addition. He always starts with an idea. Unlike some artists who rely on sketchbooks, Nadio puts his ideas on sticky notes and random pieces of paper. Once an idea is born, he moves to the computer and begins working out the composition using 3D software. “The 3D part wasn’t the hardest, but it was the part that took the longest,” he explains. “It’s also important to note that this part is just for perspective and proportion. It’s not about color, texture or light. It’s just the gray box.”
Naddeo transitions from software to Photoshop, sometimes bringing in photographic references for elements like brand logos or lettering. When he’s satisfied with the skeleton of the composition, he moves to the page, where he applies color, texture, light, and shadow. “I don’t really research or plan colors,” he says. “I know some artists study versions, but I don’t. I just start painting, feeling and finding the right colors.” His medium of choice was watercolor paint, a material he didn’t expect to fall in love with. When Nadio first started painting, he was still living in New York City and looking for a creative outlet. His apartment was small and he needed an artistic expression that was simple and required minimal cleanup. “My entire art studio could fit in one drawer,” he says of his early foray into watercolor painting. “It’s just a letter-sized piece of paper, a small set of paints and three brushes.”
Although watercolor was a convenient option at the time, it eventually became his material of choice. “Many watercolor artists tend to paint very ethereal and dreamlike scenes; techniques and themes can sometimes be similar or repetitive,” he explains. Eventually, however, he discovered that watercolor’s tactility and flexibility allowed it to express texture and depth better than some of the other mediums he had previously enjoyed. “With watercolor, depending on the amount of water you use and how you apply the color, it can be very organic and take on a life of its own. It creates a texture that is very similar to what happens in nature. I allow it to be unpredictable at first, but then I go back and correct it so it looks the way I want it to.”
Sometimes it’s more like the irony of advertising, where you can say one thing but what actually happens is the opposite. “
