What inspired you to create artwork and become an artist? (events, feelings, experiences...)
I was born into a family of artists, and I really started painting at the age of 25 upon returning from the West Indies where I spent 5 years of my life
What is your artistic background, the techniques and subjects you have experimented with to date?
I started with pastels and quickly moved to oils, which I never put down. The material has become more important over the years, the technique has been refined
What are the 3 aspects that differentiate you from other artists, making your work unique?
Are we really unique today? The superposition of layers of different shades on my canvases makes my painting lively and vibrant
Where does your inspiration come from?
I have several subjects of inspiration: books, landscapes, workshops, nudes and I like to move from one to the other. I feel like I'm rediscovering my subject every time. Sometimes I am able to meditate in front of a blank canvas for several hours until inspiration comes.
What is your artistic approach? What visions, sensations or feelings do you want to evoke in the viewer?
I try to purify my subject to keep only what I consider necessary, to identify the main lines. Sublimate, appropriate the subject, keep only the essential.
I try to make my shades vibrate by superimposing layers of different shades alternating with a knife and brush. I don't want the viewer to necessarily seek an interpretation. I often start a painting without really knowing where I am going, I let myself be guided by my desires
My works are the translation of my emotions that I experience in front of my subject
What is the process of creating your works? Spontaneous or with a long preparatory process (technique, inspiration from art classics or other)?
My preparatory work is long because I never paint on a white canvas, I use oil without any adjuvant so the drying times between each layer are very long. There are sometimes up to thirty layers per painting.
Every work must have quality and strength and I am working towards it.
Do you use a particular working technique? if yes, can you explain it?
Everyone has their own cuisine and I admit that I don't want to reveal all my secrets... But yes, I have my own technique, a sure gesture and 40 years of experience
Are there any innovative aspects in your work? Can you tell us which ones?
I think that today we don't invent much anymore, we use the great masters to draw out what interests us and the magic of chance gently leads us to the rhythm of impulses and desires.
Do you have a format or medium that you are most comfortable with? if yes, why ?
I like the square format and large formats but an artist is often forced to make concessions, not everyone has the space or the budget for large formats
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 have my own workshop which is large and allows me to store all my creations.
I need space to create, to keep this feeling of freedom.
Does your work lead you to travel to meet new collectors, for fairs or exhibitions? If so, what does it mean to you?
I actually go to see many exhibitions. The eye needs to be nourished….
How do you imagine the evolution of your work and your career as an artist in the future?
I aspire to real recognition for my work like many artists
What is the theme, style or technique of your latest artistic production?
I continue to work on libraries which change over time and become more abstract and more geometric but I always go back and forth in my working method
Can you tell us about your most important exhibition experience?
I was delighted to have an exhibition for 4 months at the Quesnel Morinieres museum in Coutances. Entry into a museum is a real consecration of my work.
If you could create a famous work in the history of art, which one would you choose? And why ?
Oh there are several that particularly touch me, the nudes by Souverbie and “flower of ashes” by Kiefer
If you could invite any famous artist (dead or alive) to dinner, who would it be? How would you suggest he spend the evening?
I will choose De Stael without whom my painting would not be what it is today.
I would discuss his feelings, his impressions, what pushed him down this path and why not paint with him
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli
