What motivated you to become an artist? What is your path?
I am very sensitive to nature, people's emotions and music. That's why I wanted to express my thoughts for a long time and was looking for a way to do it. My path to art has been long and not an easy one. All that time I was in search, I was looking for myself, I changed my job and profession, all that was not mine. I realized that art and painting were what I wanted to do and I was ready to devote myself to it completely. I started painting professionally more than 10 years ago, I took private lessons from professional artists and entered Surikov Art College.
What are the 3 things that distinguish you from other artists?
No one is the same people on this Earth, everyone is unique. We are all different, that's the beauty of it. And among artists the same, each artist is interesting in its own way, each has its own artistic vision of this world. About myself, my main quality as an artist is this: I look at the world differently than the average person. I associate ordinary objects with different images. For example, when I am in a car standing in a traffic jam at a traffic light, on the side of the road high-voltage poles with wires I associate with giants. And I immediately see the picture and I want to capture that fabulous image. Second quality: I am ready to write endlessly for a long time, almost the whole day, I do not get tired of the creative process. Third quality: I look at our Humanity as a whole. I want to tell people to love life and to protect our planet Earth. We humans litter our home where we live. Plants and factories have been built, from which a lot of pollution goes into the environment. I plan to write a whole series of works on the theme of ecology.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
I am very inspired by music. I often go to concerts with classical, organ and contemporary music. I especially like to listen to classical music by great composers, such as L. Beethoven, W.A. Mozart, A. Vivaldi, P.I. Tchaikovsky. When I come to the concert hall, I always have a notebook with a pencil in my purse, I listen to the music and images are born in my head, future pictures, I see them. I catch that moment and quickly sketch in my notebook. Then I assemble these sketches into a whole and the picture emerges.
Tell us about the design of your work, do you have a long preparatory work or is it rather spontaneous?
I have a lot of preparatory work to do a painting. If it's an object, I have to study it thoroughly first. For example, when I was painting "Subway Construction", I studied the drilling rigs, I went to the construction site and watched how these machines work. Then I do a lot of sketches and studies. I work out the details, how it will look in the picture, maybe I should add or remove some details. I work out the composition thoroughly. Then I look at how it will look in color. I make small sketches in various shades of color and choose colors and tonality of picture. Then I choose time of day: day, evening, night. I make drawings at different times of day. Preparatory work for painting is very big and labor-intensive.
What do you want to show in your work?
I want to show in the works of subjects to which I am not indifferent: This theme: Environmental problems, pollution. Another topic that I care about is hungry and abandoned children. There are often wars in the world in which innocent children suffer. I once saw a picture of a 3-year-old boy among the ruins and a burnt-out house, it made an indelible impression on me. Also, in my work I still want to reveal the theme of folk folklore: matryoshkas, kokoshniki, roundelays, folk dances, etc.
Do you use unusual methods or materials in your work?
Yes, I am interested in using new materials and unconventional techniques. For example, I want to try using paper and fabric in my oil paintings to get volume.
Do you have a favorite format? Why?
Yes, I have a favorite format, it's 150*100 cm. I like to paint in large sizes. A big work looks good, you can work out a lot of details and vividly express the story. On a big canvas you can create a story, you can show a history, you can see a whole epoch.
What difficulties do you encounter in your work?
The only difficulty in my work is the lack of time, because there is also a family, extra work and many other everyday situations that I have to devote my time to.
How do you work? At home, in a shared workshop, in your own workshop ?
I work in my own workshop in my country house.
Do you have to travel a lot due to your work as an artist?
I travel a lot, but not because of my work as an artist, I have extra work that is not related to art.
What was the most beautiful moment of your career ?
I had a great moment in my career when I participated in the international competition "People Paint". My 2 paintings devoted to the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 were awarded and I got the 1st degree Laureate title in the category "Fine Art".
How do you see your work in ten years?
I hope that in ten years, that I will occupy a niche in the artistic environment and my time will be fully devoted to creativity.
What are you working on now? Are you planning an exhibition soon?
I am working on the theme "Atelier". There are a lot of mannequins, fabrics and a seamstress at the sewing machine. It is a large format 150 * 100 cm, first I work out the picture in a drawing in charcoal on tracing paper, then transferred to a large canvas and oil painting. Participation in the exhibition I plan to winter after the new year's theme of folklore .
If you could create a masterpiece of art history which one would you choose?
I have several ideas: I would choose a historical theme like Christianity, Christ and his parables. The second option, I would do a painting on the work of Alexander Pushkin. He has a lot of material with which I would have worked - these are fairy tales: The Frog, Sadko, The Tale of Tsar Saltan, his son the glorious and mighty hero Prince Guidon, The Tale of the Dead Tsarevna and the Seven Knights and many others. I would like to paint pictures for his works.
If you could invite a famous artist (dead or alive) to dinner, who would you choose?
If I could invite a famous artist to dinner, I would invite Michael Jackson. I like him a lot. He was a very subtle and vulnerable man who had to overcome a lot of difficulties in life, his talent and artistry inspire me.
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli
