Larger Than Life

While sexologists have proved that size may not matter in the bedroom, for Portugese painter Odeith, he’s found success under the mantra “Bigger is Better.” Odeith has crafted a name for himself as an international visual street artist by demonstrating his talent to transform any space into a spectacular work of art. He uses a sharp understanding of perspective and shading to manipulate the unique curves and textures of a given space, creating larger than life images that turn ordinary into extraordinary.

What did you want to be when you were little and how does it compare to what you do now? I was never a child with this kind of a dream. I just wanted to have fun and play with friends. I left school very early and went to work for my father in a furniture factory. Then, I came to the conclusion that I had to find something better to do—something that was a passion. I worked as a tattoo artist for 12 years until I was able to live painting murals, which was always my biggest passion.What appeals to you about creating art on a large scale and what goes into crafting each piece? In the early days of graffiti, the idea was always to make bigger art. Nowadays, I try to make the biggest impact possible with simpler paintings. Of course, I still like to paint large murals. But doing something simple with a huge impact is always a challenge.

What’s the key to creating an optical illusion and where do other artists go wrong? The three main things to focus on are light, shadows and perspective. I see a lot of artists who try to create an effect, but miss one of these three components and miss out on a good end result.Where do you find inspiration for your pieces and do you take any of your own reference pictures? Normally, it’s in nature or real life scenes. Especially when I go to abandoned buildings, I try to bring some life into these places and make something with an effect that matches the space.The phrase “Larger Than Life” plays a huge role in your designs. What kind of impact does seeing small objects or organisms on a grand scale produce? I really like to change the size of things in my surrealism scenes, where insects or objects are bigger than humans. I think this gives a lot of impact to my paintings.

What role does the juxtaposition between the natural and manmade worlds play in your work? When I paint in abandoned places, I love to play with textures and different wall shapes. Different textures can produce different effects and I always try to make my paintings look realistic on that environment without damaging the textures, which makes the scene even more real. What’s something you’re interested in creating that you’ve yet to get around to? Maybe painting a huge corner, but to be honest, I don’t think about this too much. Each piece is different and I never know what I’ll bring to the street art world. Inspiration depends on my mood and sometimes you can create something wild without thinking.

How does the shape of a space (corners, walls, etc) play a role in inspiring your designs? When I go to abandoned places, I’m always fascinated by the many different types of walls and the shapes I can create. Most of the time, I take photos from my favorite places and then I try to match a piece for that specific wall.What’s the best advice you’ve been given along the way? Just paint more and try to surprise yourself with each piece. That has been my way of doing this.What message, feeling or emotion do you hope people take away from your work? It’s not really a message but I want people to see something that they’ve never seen before. I think it’s cool when you surprise people with something that you really enjoy doing.