What inspired you to create works of art and to become an artist? (events, feelings, experiences...)
I don't think that one becomes an artist, one is or one is not… the process of creation responds to an almost vital need. The technique without this desire is nothing.
Practicing an art can be entertainment, a "hobby" that does not make the person an artist in the true sense of the term.
What pushes me to create new works is the path taken which means that I don't know where I'm going and it's a real adventure, my canvas changes from minute to minute, evolves, changes direction, I turns, reverses it changes direction, desire, color, shape… creation remains a mystery to me… why is it that I use “Prussian blue” at a precise moment? what makes me draw one shape rather than another? what makes that in the end I choose a meaning for my canvas, both literally and figuratively? This must be what is called inspiration...
It's the state in which I am and the crowd of sensations that invades me that pushes me and stimulates me. When I sign a canvas, I have the impression of having emerged victorious from a duel, from a fight.
What is your artistic background, the techniques and subjects you have experimented with so far?
I took a higher course in decorative painting where I learned imitations of materials, wood, marble, etc., as well as the technique of trompe-l'oeil, which made me move towards hyper realism when I started to abandon the "wall" to paint on canvas.
With this technique, we calculate everything, the drawing, the lights, the shadows, the shadows cast, the proportions, the perspectives, once the subject has been created, there are no surprises.
In 2013, tired of this type of painting I decided to change everything, I swapped my brushes for knives, oil for acrylic and hyper realism for abstract and abstract expressionism
What are the 3 aspects that differentiate you from other artists, making your work unique?
I think that we recognize my "leg" but that my paintings are all different, I have a kind of graphic signature...
I proceed a lot by scraping the canvas, first I paint the background, then I repaint over it and then come and rediscover my background in places by playing with shapes and perspectives to find the colors of my base. This technique is quite unique and the fact that the paint used is acrylic makes it necessary to paint quickly, because once the paint is dry, "removing" it is no longer possible.
The challenge of color matching
Where does your inspiration come from?
My inspiration comes from color and its associations. When I don't want to take any risks, I choose so-called "Classic" color harmonies and when I want to travel, I choose colors that are less easy to put together, the risk is greater, the trip more risky, but the result more original. and unique.
What is your artistic approach? What visions, sensations or feelings do you want to evoke in the viewer?
I want the viewer to appropriate my canvas, to enter it, it's an incentive to daydream. I want my painting to be elegant and dreamlike… the viewer is the only judge to determine if the goal is achieved.
Once signed, the canvas no longer belongs to me, I leave plenty of room for the viewer so that he does not feel cramped. My silhouettes now present in most of my paintings bring a human side to the abstract background, so it is easy to walk around and find what you came for or discover what you are looking for. we didn't expect to find
What is the process of creating your works? Spontaneous or with a long preparatory process (technical, inspiration from art classics or other)?
Spontaneous. I no longer want to think, calculate, prepare, know where I'm going. Soulage said: "The difference between an artist and a craftsman is that the craftsman knows where he is going" I think I am... an artist :)
Do you use a particular working technique? if so, can you explain it?
As I said before I work with different layers that I "scratch" in order to reveal the previous layers, this work can only be done as long as the paint is not dry, then it is too late...
Are there any innovative aspects in your work? Can you tell us which ones?
I am constantly looking for new things, things to explore, so I incorporate new materials into my canvases such as sand, placo glue, black lava, collages, I vary the mediums, acrylic, markers, pigments. I have acquired a solid technique in more than 30 years of painting which makes my friends say that I am a bit like a cat, I always land on my feet. I've painted more than a thousand canvases since 2013, I haven't thrown any away… always manage not to deny what I do and make the canvas “signable”
Do you have a format or medium that you are most comfortable with? if yes, why ?
I prefer large formats I think it's because I started by painting on the walls… a matter of habit. The smallest format on which I paint is 60/60 cms, the most frequent 100/100 cms, the largest (except on the walls) 200/200 cms
Where do you produce your works? At home, in a shared workshop or in your own workshop? And in this space, how do you organize your creative work?
I am lucky enough to live in the countryside, near Cahors, and I have a large barn that has been converted into a gallery workshop. There is the workshop which measures about 25 m2 and the exhibition space which is more than 100 m2
Does your work lead you to travel to meet new collectors, for fairs or exhibitions? If so, what does it bring you?
I work a lot with the big galleries on the Web; this is the first year that I really “leave” my barn to exhibit. I am very productive and can therefore lead several exhibitions at the same time. Human contact is the most important thing I can have with the Net. It's always a pleasure to meet the spectators and I love those who start their sentence with: “I don't know anything about it but…. »
Because they have a candid side, they are the best placed to talk about my painting, real spectators, without prejudice, without judgment, without dogma, just “onlookers”.
How do you imagine the evolution of your work and your career as an artist in the future?
I don't imagine anything, I do it instinctively, I take pleasure and I try to give it. I sell a lot of paintings it flatters the ego, but the pleasure is above all that of painting. As long as I have fun and I give it, I continue...
What is the theme, style or technique of your latest artistic production?
It is a pure abstract called "LE DERNIER MOT" a 100/100cms canvas, an assembly with posca marker in the background of the canvas, diluted paint passed over forming volutes and a lot of color, alone a small triangle remained white, "it's the last word" it remains to write...
Can you tell us about your most important exhibition experience?
No, I don't have a bigger exhibition, exhibiting is already very good, it's an extraordinary chance, there isn't one more important than the other
If you could have created a famous work in the history of art, which one would you choose? And why ?
Monet's magpie, the first painting that made me stay open-mouthed for an hour... :)
If you could invite one famous artist (dead or alive) to dinner, who would it be? How would you suggest he spend the evening?
He wouldn't be a painter... :)
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli
