About me | arte

I’m very interested in the cycle of time and I consider myself an environmental painter, focused on Mother Nature´s beauty.

I find beauty in every natural object, under natural light and I can’t help painting them, representing any detail I see. Strong contrasts between lights and shadows are a visual effect I use in order to attract the viewer’s attention and then show him/her an extreme reality.

Flowers represent youth, sensuality, tenderness, splendor, passion, love and beauty, but at the same time they represent the unbearable finitude of life. However with their incredible beauty and freshness, although transitory, they fill us with hope and convince us that life is worth living.

The flowers that I usually paint, like peonies and roses, have a structure with enveloping petals, tender like the arms of a mother embracing her child and also sensual like woman’s bodies. I like to think of these curved structures as the beautiful female bodies from Renaissance.

The compositions I like the most are those that have variety of colors and shapes, with flowers that begin to wither combined with fresher ones and buds as well, showing the beauty of each stage of life.

Sunlight is an element of great importance in my paintings, showing the power of light, without which we could not live.

Flowers also have a positive meaning in themselves. When someone gives you flowers, they are saying to you: “I love you” , “I admire you” “Thank you” , “Forgive me” , “I desire you”, “You are unique” etc. This is the kind of positive messages I want to transmit to the viewer too.

Through my paintings I expect people to stop for a while in their hurried lives and admire the great beauty in Nature which is usually taken for granted.

CREATIVE PROCESS

I choose my models carefully and prepare the compositions under sunlight in summer sunsets. Fruits, vegetables and flowers have an incredible visual language in its variety and natural imperfections so I spend some hours just watching them discovering the best point of view and arrangement for them. Taking photos allows me to have the reference image during the complete process of painting which lasts for 1 or 2 months.

I usually buy the flowers and arrange the compositions in the terrace of my studio at home. Other times, I take photos in parks with flowers, without cutting them. Both methods need my complete concentration and many hours under the sun, because those photographs will be almost the final composition as I don’t make any edition to them. The exact image I have in front of my eyes with the actual flowers under that natural light is the one I will paint later on in my studio

Incredible color changes happen under different light situations and that is what attracts me the most. Sometimes objects are only an excuse to paint the light.

I then spend a lot of time observing and selecting the better photos based on the original idea I had when the models were in front of me. I make several photo sessions during the days flowers are still fresh, or maybe not that fresh but they are lovely too in that new stage.

Once I have selected the final composition I start with the drawing part, first on paper, then on the canvas, which I do very carefully because a perfect drawing is the base of a good painting. Large canvases allows me to do all the details I see on the model.

To me, working in realism style is virtually parting in my mind the subject into small pieces like a puzzle. I can process the information these pieces are giving to me like color, value, saturation in small abstract shapes. It’s my work as an artist, to observe and put all that information back together through different colors, brush style and some layers of painting.

I use classic oil painting technique, working in layers and using very small amounts of paint to have very thin layers. Using the best quality pigments is very important to obtain intense and strong color results. My works have no more than 3 layers because I believe the painting must keep the freshness too, like the flowers or fruits I’m painting, that’s why I try to apply the right color and value I see on the model from the very start. On 2 nd and 3rd layer the painting will “come to life” when darkness area will be retouched and highlights will be added. I use Münsell System Color while making my mixes, although I don’t pre mix them, I try to prepare the colors I need during the same session of painting.

BACKGROUND

I have painted all my life since I can remember and my home during childhood has been a great artistic inspiration to me since my father, being a pianist and organist, has provided my brothers and me with constant classical music classes, piano and singing. I grew up in an Italian immigrant family of the 20th century, where hard work was the rule and they wanted a better life for their children and grandchildren with higher education and culture than they had.

I studied Graphic Design at Buenos Aires University and then I obtained the Artisan Professor degree at Normal nº 6 Superior School in Buenos Aires.

I then focused on classic oil painting attending classes with many artists, discovering contemporary realistic art. Marcos Borio and Juan Lascano have been my most influential teachers in Argentina, awakening in me the fascination for classic still life and realism in art.

Visiting The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and Uffizi Gallery in Florence left a strong impression on me, confirming my passion for the Old Dutch Master’s and Italian Renaissance.

I have made several commissions for private collectors, like those for one of the organs` doors in The Oude Kerk ( Old Church) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands: a new version of Vincenzo Maganza’s painting ( from 1650) as well as many others still life and flower paintings for collectors around the world.

I have participated in exhibitions and auctions in Argentina, The Netherlands, USA and Taiwan.

I teach art classes at my studio in Buenos Aires, Argentina and do painting workshops around my country and also in Rome, Italy.

Since 2020 I do online art class too, arriving to students from all over the world, through English, Italian and Spanish languages. Teaching is an integral part of my creative work.

EXHIBITIONS

Art Revolution Taipei, 2022 and 2021, Taiwan

X-Power Gallery, 2021, Taipei, Taiwan

Glade Cultural Center, 2020, Houston, Texas, USA

Galería Mercedes Giachett, 2019, San Telmo Buenos Aires, Argentina

Centro Galicia de Buenos Aires 2019, 2018, 2017, 21016, 2015, 2014

Auction in HQ School of Veenendal in Kievietsdal Baarm, 2015, The Netherlands

Sala de Exposiciones de la Legislatura de Buenos Aires, 2015, Argentina

Obsesión Arte 2013, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Expoarte 2013, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Galería Jakim, 2013, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Galería Forma, 2013, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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I’m very interested in the cycle of time and I consider myself an environmental painter, focused on Mother Nature´s beauty.