Romero Britto’s creative universe is a playful place full of Pop Art polka dots, spray paint drips, sunshine, and hearts. Still, he confesses that his canvases don’t always reflect his state of mind.
“I’m not always happy,” says Britto, who’s seated at his studio in front of an enormous mural he recently painted. The scene makes it look like hearts and flowers are exploding from his very soul. “I’m just like anybody else,” he continues. “I mean, I want to create images of hope and happiness, but you know, it’s not like I’m the guy who wakes up like that in the morning. My art is a vehicle for me to find a happy place inside myself.”
It has also been a way for his collectors to grab a slice of joy for themselves. Considered the most licensed artist in the world, Britto is collected by notables such as Great Britain’s King Charles III, Brazilian soccer player Neymar, the record producer DJ Khaled, Colombian pop star Shakira, and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. His work has been exhibited in more than 120 countries around the world, appeared in the Super Bowl XLI pregame show, and been featured at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. His fine art and everyday wares such as dog gear, fine bone china, perfumes, chess sets, and desk chairs are sold online and in a network of Britto stores that will continue to expand this year. But for all his reach, why stop at mere visuals? Britto has launched a skin care line called, of course, Britto Skin.
Britto’s art (and his world) are marked by perpetual motion. “I usually tell people, ‘You have to surround yourself with people and things that lift you up and go to places that make you feel good,’” he says. “Anytime that you don’t feel good at that place, you have to move on to somewhere else. It’s the same thing with people. If there’s somebody who doesn’t make you feel good, you know you have to move on. Because you can’t change people, you can only change yourself and your habits.”
His drive to do more (and to do it better) stems from growing up as one of nine children in Recife, Brazil. His mother was single and more concerned about putting food on the table than with her son’s nascent creative pursuits. Although Britto recalls selling his first piece of art at age 14, he can remember little more about his earliest artistic endeavors. It was a long time ago, he says, and art wasn’t really a consideration for him. Sure, he loved looking at pieces by Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, and Roy Lichtenstein in books, but he wanted to be a diplomat.
After enrolling in law school, he says he became miserable. He dropped out and started thinking about art again. When he was 25 years old, he visited a Brazilian friend of his in Miami and loved the city so much that he never left.
“I remember falling in love with the sunshine and the palm trees and the water everywhere,” he says. “I liked the open roads, the highways. Everything was larger than life, and because I had lived in a small town, I liked that very much.”
To make ends meet, Britto worked at a car wash, in restaurants, and at a landscaping company. He admits that he became distraught during this period, and decided to try selling his art any way he could—including on the streets.
Eventually, he found a home decor store that would sell his work. One thing led to another, and he was contracted to do a national advertising campaign for Absolut Vodka. The iconic brand had begun collaborating with artists in the 1980s, after Andy Warhol saw one of its bottles and said he wanted to give it the Campbell’s Soup Can treatment. Warhol recommended other artists who could put their own spin on the bottle. When Britto got his turn in 1989, it changed the trajectory of his career. Suddenly, his work was in major magazines like Vanity Fair, on billboards, and in galleries nationwide. Soon, companies like Coca-Cola and Mattel wanted to get in on the Britto magic. His work was “just so happy,” and person after person started telling him that. His happy art became known as the Happy Art Movement, which he says was born—unintentionally, he adds—in 1992.
Broad exposure often comes with criticism, which Britto takes in stride. “When you go out there, when more people see you, you have to be open to the fact that some will embrace you and others won’t, for whatever reason,” he says. “It could be ignorance. It could be like some sort of snobbery or even jealousy. There’s all sorts of things that can make somebody dislike something. But I definitely don’t focus on negative thinking or comments or criticism. I focus on the people who collect my work. That means a lot to me.”
On a typical day, Britto wakes up in the morning, exercises, and then comes to his studio at the Britto Palace, to work. He has a quick meeting with his assistant, then says hello to everyone before going upstairs to his studio, where he’ll turn on music and begin to create.
The vibe is, of course, “happy,” he says, and there’s often a lot going on. Visitors are welcome by invitation only. In that sense, it’s sort of a Willy Wonka–esque golden ticket into the factory that creates all the goodies that bring his customers so much joy. Not everyone gets an entry into this world, but those who do are in for a real treat.
Despite his demanding schedule, Britto collaborated with a production company on The Britto Doc to celebrate his life and career. The film, which debuted at the end of 2024, was an emotional experience that involved a lot of travel, Britto says. But the result was worth it.
“There are so many things you can learn about a person when you read about their lives or see a film about it, to show you what they had to do to get where they are now,” he says. “There’s so much along the way—so many rocks that you have to climb, so many obstacles that may make someone stop and not go ahead. And so, I think for a young artist out there, it would be kind of inspiring for them to see the documentary. One hour and a half is not enough for you to learn everything that happens in somebody else’s life, but you can have an idea. You see the time, the dedication, the preparation, and all the things that went into this life.”
One of the ways Britto spreads his message of joy and hope is through philanthropy. He speaks to school groups about how education helps people change their lives for the better, and he has donated his time and talents to causes ranging from animal welfare to cancer research and children’s hospitals.
“I wish I could do even more, but I need to do my art and my art takes a long time to do,” he says. “But I have been very blessed and lucky to have an incredible team that supports me with so many of my endeavors.”
Take Britto Skin, for example. Britto acknowledges that he’s not out there mixing the moisturizers and serums that comprise his namesake natural skin care line, but he knows that it’s a “beautiful” product “made with love.” He says he has always used moisturizer before leaving the house (and his skin reflects that habit). So going bold with a skin care line, packaged in his signature bright hues, just made sense.
“I’m so proud that together with this group of people, the businessmen, we put this line together and put it out into the world,” he says. “You can always expand into a new area, and you can have the support of people in that area, and that’s a beautiful thing.”
When he’s not painting, Britto likes to go to the beach, have dinners with friends, and spend time with his son. He’s always up to something, he says, and will be traveling to Japan and the Middle East this year. He will also release a mezcal this year and eventually a tequila too. “It’s going to be spectacular,” he says.
It’s hard not to believe him.
Britto’s life is a story of surviving and thriving; his paintings reflect that sentiment to those in search of the brightness in their own lives. He is moved, he says, by the stories of people seeing his art and feeling joyful as a result, or people who buy a Britto piece so they can feel happy and hopeful in their own homes.
Maybe the world isn’t as happy and shiny right now as Britto’s paintings are, but the pieces themselves serve as a reminder of what could be—if not today, then someday. The key, he says, is to keep your chin up, smile, and never lose hope.
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