Thais Beltrame, was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil. Drawing since she was a child she unsuccessfully rebelled against the possibility of an artistic profession, eventually giving in and enrolling in art classes at City College in San Francisco. Her artwork is inspired by past and present observations and is almost always represented by black and blue ink on white paper.

1. What would you say is the most important theme in your work?
Childhood memories, no doubt. Mine and everybody else’s.

2. What’s most inspiring to your working process?
Time. Being able to fully process feelings is really crucial to me. I spend a lot of my time watching things closely.

3. Have you any strange talents that influence the work you produce or the way you produce it?
Yes, I’m a medium of sorts and I was born that way. When I was little I’d see people walking by my house and disappearing, I’d hear music and even had someone knocking at my bedroom door. Nowadays I’m limited to dreaming very intensely. That most definitely shows up in my work.

4. Which artist of the past would you resurrect to collaborate with and why?
I’d love to have met Henry Darger. I’m not sure we’d be able to collaborate because his work is just so full. But I’d really be honoured to have had a cup of tea with him, just because he was so true and whole in what he was doing.

5. Do you think your work is understood or misinterpreted and why?
Who am I to say? Sometimes I don’t know what I’m talking about. People might be able to show you something you just
weren’t looking at.

6. If you could decorate one place in the world what would it be and how would you do it?
I would love to sit in someone’s dream and draw on it.

7. What to date has been your ‘cherry on the cake’ moment and what was it that got you there?
There have been so many of these moments so I guess I’m really fortunate. An exhibition I had in Wyoming felt like the right time and place to be. Such a beautiful confluence of things, it felt much like my life was heading in that direction.

8. What we ask everyone! Does your artistic style influence your underwear?
My underwear must be comfortable.

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More info www.thaisbeltrame.com
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