Artists & Illustrators - UK (2020-05)

self-procl p su painter

ANTONIOSEGURADONATis puttingafantasticalspin

onwildlifeartasMARTHAALEXANDERdiscovers

A

leopardwitha unicorn

hornthundersthrougha

cloudscapeofburntoranges

andmoonlitblues,pursuedbyan

emancipatedbigtop,itsguyropes

danglingandfarfromterrafirma.

Birdscircletheleopard,whohas

a bullseyetargetononesideofits

face,anda bellarounditsneck.

It’sanarrestingscene,sofarfrom

conventionality,butthisextraordinary

castofcharacters,objectsandmotifs

areparforthecourseforAntonio

SeguraDonat,thepainterbehindthis

dreamlikescene.Allofhispaintings

aredramatictobehold,radiatinga

jewel-likekaleidoscopicqualityanda

menagerieofexoticcreatures,from

elephantsandparrots,tobigcats

andrhinos.

AntonioSeguraDonat’swork

canbefoundunderhispseudonym,

DULK.Thisis,ofcourse,nothisreal

name,buthestartedhiscareerasa

graffitiartistandDULKwashistag.

“Itdoesn’tmeananything,”the

Valencia-bornandbasedartist

explainsinperfectEnglish,cloaked

ina melodicSpanishaccent.“I just

likehowtheletteringlooks.”

Hehasshownworkalloverthe

worldwithsoloshowsasfarafield

asRome,LosAngelesandLondon.

Inthatmodernmeasureofsuccess,

hehasmorethan236,000likeson

FacebookandhisInstagrampage

boastssome86,000followers,many

ofwhomheappraiseonhispaintings

inthecommentsbeneath.Andyet

Antoniomaintainsa quietmodesty

aboutwhathedoes.Yougetthe

impressionthathedoesn’ttake

hissuccesstodateforgranted.

“Paintingis difficultbecauseyou

worknotknowingif it willsellor

not,”heconfides.Hisportfolioalso

encompassescommercialillustration,

sculptureandmurals.Thelatter

arehuge,brightbeaconsofcolour

decoratingthesidesofbuildingsand

otherpublicspacesineverywhere

fromShanghaitoHonolulu.

WhilesomeofAntonio’sinspiration

comesfromhisdreams,muchofit

comesfromphotography– bothother

people’sandhisown.Helovestaking

hisownpicturesandtravelstwoor

threetimesa year,cameraintow.

“Myideasarefrombothdreamsand

reality,”Dulkexplains,“Yearsago

a

n e

il ide

LEFTEphemeral,
acryliconcanvas,
80x80cm

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Artists & Illustrators 23