A native Venezuelan, Porras has dedicated over twenty years to portraying the peoples of Amazonia, splitting his time between his studios in Paris and the United States and his work in the field among different tribes of Venezuela, Brazil, and Colombia. 

Painting with oil on canvas that average six to seven feet, Porras studies how color, light, and the creative use of negative space have a unique effect when worked on large formats. 

His work is represented in some of the most prominent galleries in Paris, New York, Miami, Beirut, and Caracas, and has been exhibited extensively throughout the world, with multiple exhibits in Barcelona, Basel, Beirut, Chicago, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, London, Miami, Mumbai, New York, Palm Beach, Paris, and Singapore, among many others. 

A collection of watercolors (www.portamagicae.com) - the result of a project which has taken him around the world for many years to create an illustrated children’s book series - is under preparation at the moment. Sketches done in the Andes, the Galapagos Islands, Rome, Istanbul, and many other locations have now become beautifully detailed watercolors that serve as inspiration for the books and support their creation. 

Porras studied art under great watercolor masters like multiple national award winner Z.L. Feng and has over eighteen years of experience teaching art at U.S. institutes, colleges, and universities. 

See more of the large format paintings, his work on the rainforest, and the sketches for the children’s books at: www.fernandoporras.com