User:Muriloogps/Goiandira do Couto

Goiandira Ayres do Couto (Catalão, September 12, 1915 - Goiânia, August 22, 2011) was a Brazilian plastic artist.

Biography
Born to Luís de Oliveira Couto, a poet, lawyer, and historian, and to Maria Ayres do Couto, who was also a painter, Goiandira was the eldest daughter of 12 siblings and, at the age of six, she moved to the city of Goiás. She was also cousin to and friends with nationally renowned poet Cora Coralina. Having started to paint at a young age, she received her first accolade when she was 16 years old.

She would eventually become a Portuguese, History, Drawing, Art, Dance, and Etiquette teacher, doing so until her retirement. She was never married nor had any kids.

Goiandira's work as a painter can be divided in two periods: oil painting (1933-1967) and sand painting, which began in 1968.

At the age of 18, Goiandira hosted her first painting exhibit. When she was 52, she started painting with sand from crushed stones, a unique technique that made her renowned worldwide. The technique consists in "carving" the drawing on the canvas, then applying glue, and finally spreading sand with her fingertips. According to the painter, she once heard a voice who said "build your house from sand".

Typically depicting old houses and Vila Boa (former name of the city of Goiás) landscapes, her work can be found at the UN headquarters, museums, and national and international private collections.

Goiandira worked with 551 different color hues of sand (natural coloring), displayed in her studio. Her house was often visited by tourists.

On August 22, 2011, Goiandira passed away at the Hospital Ortopédico de Goiânia, local hospital where she was checked in since July 2011, when she had a domestic accident and broke one of her femurs. The wake took place on August 23 at the Palácio Conde dos Arcos, former seat of the Goiás state government, in the historical city of Goiás. Several local authorities, such as the then governor José Eliton, attended the event.


 * News article about Goiandira's death