The first part of his painting covers his beginnings, difficult to fix in time as very few pictures remain prior to the ’50s, up to 1957.

The figurative/naturalist stage: Messa eagerly learns and his oil paintings were “still life”, small landscapes and family portraits, with decided brush strokes dominating the streaks of colour over the lines which, when there, mark out the shape. There are not many colours and these are dark.