A blurb on what inspired me to create my artworks and aura painting



Tuesday 6 October 2015

The Spheres Series (Truth & Lies) and the Contemporary Gothic Exhibition

It is always a humble pleasure to meet inspiring gallery owners that like my work and are happy to give me the opportunity to exhibit at their space. As one of the four participating artists to The Art Cafe's forthcoming art exhibition 'Contemporary Gothic' in Whitby organized by Caroline Dudley during the Bram Stoker Film Festival and the Goth Weekend (October 2015), I was inspired to create a brand new series to exhibit alongside existing pieces.

Since the theme  of the exhibition is that of Gothic and dark atmospheres, I tried to capture on canvas my very own representation of the journey towards enlightenment, used here as the main inspiration for the work. The spheres represent the energy of dreams, guarded by the mighty dragon that can be awake or asleep, whilst the tree (which is still part of, thus interlinked to, the guardian dragon) represents the outside world. At times, a traveller blinded by the most wonderful dream might fail to realise that the tree behind is not as splendid as the one where the dream is not as sparkly and the dragon appears to be dormant. I truly hope that these pieces will convey to travellers in their soul searching journey the comforting thought that ultimately it is the truth that will set us all free.

The Spheres Series (Lies)



The Spheres Series (Truth)


The pieces are extra sparkling and glossy but unfortunately the effect has to be seen in person and does not come across in photos. The exhibition in Whitby will be on from 5 October 2015 until 8 November 2015. After working so hard in preparing old and new pieces for this little exhibition, the allocated corner for my work looks rather nice!! if you are going to pass by Whitby, I am looking forward to see you all at the Art Cafe!



My little corner at the exhibition:



Monday 5 October 2015

Back Rose Ball - A night of Gothic extravaganza and tombola!


Not only the Black Rose Ball has been, literally, a true spellbinding feast for the eyes but being part of it has been such an incredible experience no words can really describe it.

First and foremost my thanks go to all those commendably hard-working members of the Black Rose Ball crew for creating such a wonderful night of splendour and then to all the attendees with their amazing dresses and energy (lot of dance!) for making it really spectacular.

After promising to donate a small art piece for the tombola, I was kindly invited to participate to the event with some paintings and prints, so I was given space to exhibit my work but also I had the blissful opportunity to meet so many people who seemed to like my work! Such a great feeling.

The splendour of The Grey Room in York during the masquerade ball and my allocated space during the event:




This is my piece 'Black Rose Masquerade' during the tombola. I was touched by the amount of people buying tickets with the hope to win my little painting. In the end I took a photo of the rightful winner:



Thank you Black Rose Ball, I am already looking forward to next year event!

Tuesday 15 September 2015

Black Rose Ball York - a night of Gothic splendour

There has been a few editions of the Gothic masquerade 'Black Rose Ball' in York and I feel really privileged to have been invited by the two wonderful and really dedicated organizers, Alex and Estelle, to exhibit some of my work at this year's event!!! I will be there selling individually re-touched glicee prints alongside original paintings.

The masquerade ball and related pre-ball concert not only is an amazing social event for the York community, bringing the splendour of Goth to the hearth of the city, but it is also for a good cause, since all the profits go to St. Leonard's Hospice.
To support this noble charity, I have created a small piece which will be one of the prizes for the ball's Tombola. The piece is called Black Masquerade and represents the mask that all the attendees have to wear on the night so to keep identity (not so much) secret.

~~If you are in York on Saturday 19th September 2015 and like to join us for a dance or two, please do come! Come one, Come all to the Ball!! ~~

Info on the event:
www.blackroseball.co.uk
Black Rose Ball Facebook




Black Rose Masquerade


(The painting will be one of the prizes for the Black Rose Ball's Tombola)

Friday 7 August 2015

New Korea experience and another Aura Painting (지수)


Every time I go to Korea it feels almost impossible to properly put down in words all the countless experiences and emotions I have with me upon returning home. After spending almost a month there, I came home this time, once again, with such an overload of good memories shared among people I met along the way, it feels almost overwarming to even think to write a blog entry about it. Out of all the people, more than ever before, this time I have to express my deepest gratitude to the Korean Symphonic Death Metal band Midian, who not only have named me their official European promoter but whose members have repeatedly make me feel welcome in their pack as a family member during my staying.



  
In return for all the kindness and good moments spent together (some of which definitely the highlights of my staying) I wanted to create a matching painting for 지수, Sin (Midian's talented vocalist and frontman)'s wife, as a long overdue wedding present for the couple. 지수 has been always an awesome friend from the very beginning, and language barriers never represented a problem thanks to her kind nature and predisposition to communicate in any possible way. In my painting I tried to give justice to her nice and bubbly personality as well as her great energy. I think the latter is so strong that everyone can feel it in her proximity. The painting is primarily in shades of red and pink and I tried with the energy patters to recall the vision I had of red Sakura (Japanese red cherry tree) flowers. I have added a photo below to give the idea of what came to my mind as an inspiration for the aura painting.

Colours and shapes in 지수's painting are also particular relevant in correlation to Sin's ones, (his painting was done previously as part of the Midian series) whose dominant colours are blue, black and silver. Not only Sin and 지수 seems to match perfectly in real life (in truth, if there was a couple that could well represent what love is all about that should be this one!) but also their two paintings seem to match really well together. I have uploaded here both, 지수 and Sin respectively, so everyone can see that at times, opposites can really be the best match.


지수 (The red cherry blossom)


 Sin (The wall of thorns)




~ 미디안 멤버들에게 항상 감사하고 싶었어요 ~


Sunday 15 March 2015

New Aura Painting Series - CRUX (Sebastian)

At times in my work I stumble on very complicate energy patterns which are not always easy to capture on canvas. The portrait that I have done for Sebastian W. Suh, singer of the Korean band Crux, is undoubtedly one of these cases and, I can easily say, one of the most complex aura-inspired portraits I have created so far. Since the first time I had the opportunity to watch Sebastian performing on stage, what captured my attention was not the show itself by the complexity of the front-man's strong stage persona and energy. It is definitely him who makes watching Crux live a somehow futuristic experience (in additions to it his talent with languages allows him to easily interact with foreign fans so that everyone can follow what's happening on stage)

Photo by Simaris SJ

The vision that I had from Sebastian's unique energy is that of a time traveller who has lived a number of lives, witnessed past and present but comes from the dark atmospheres of a Blade Runner-esque metropolis of the future. I tried to find a photo from the film to illustrated the same vibes that I had and which I attempted to convey in my work. There is something dark and evil lingering in the shadow as well as some feeling of redemption.


For this reason, I created a lot of lines and circular shapes in the painting aiming to give the feeling of the inner working of mechanical clocks in continuous movement (like the time that never stops). The surface has been coated with a glossy paint so to give the idea of lights sparkling in the darkness. Unfortunately this effect does not come out on the photo below but has to be seen on the original work.

CRUX (Sebastian)
~ The time traveller from the future ~

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Tuesday 10 February 2015

New Aura Painting Series - CRUX (신영)

For someone who has many gigs under her belt such as myself, meeting a band that is acting friendly and nice to fans is always an awesome experience. During one of my last weekends in Korea I was invited by CRUX's drummer, 신영, to go and see the band playing live at a small local metal club. Not only their live performance was a pleasure to watch, in particular because if felt really intimate (not many people were there but the band give it all anyway), but it was the friendliness of the band after the show ended that made the show really memorable.

Photo by Simaris SJ (시마)
In return for the kind invitation and, most important, for making me feel rather welcome on the night, I wanted to express my thanks through my painting (since they seem to like what I do...I find always overwhelming when people I do not know seem to like my work).
The first aura portrait is of CRUX's drummer, 신영, the person who kindly sent me the invitation and really made me discover the band.

Photo by Simaris SJ (시마)
From the very first moment I met 신영 in person is kind nature and protective energy reminded me so much of that of a mighty fire that keeps people safe and warm in the middle of the night. However, as the fire can burn you if you get too near, so this powerful aura gives the powerful vibes of protection and threatening at the same time. It was not easy for me to find in internet an image similar to the vision that I had (which was more of a fire in the midst of the forest) but I think that these still might well represent the same feeling of comfort and peacefulness, as well as destructive power, I had in mind when painting.



For this piece I primarily used a lot of bright gold and red tones but I also added a glittering coat to mimic the reflection of the flames. I truly hope this painting conveys the warmth as well as the power of CRUX's drummer, that of a fire in a cold winter night.

CRUX (신영)
~ The mighty fire in the winter night ~


Monday 9 February 2015

New aura painting and Korean adventures

Finally I am back blogging after such a long silence, busy with my teaching, travelling UK-South Korea back and forth and planning future art projects. No matter how often I go, it is always a pleasure to spend time in Seoul and surroundings, catching up with old friends, meeting new acquaintances, visit amazing art places...all that whilst eating a copious amount of delicious food (as only Koreans can do) and going to metal gigs or dance shows on a daily basis.


During my staying I had the pleasure to visit once again Jankura Art Space and his owner Mike Stewart during some of the art academy drawing sessions. Next time I am going back to the Korean capital, I will definitely try to organise once again another Aura Painting Workshop or an Italian Art Lecture there! Mike, wait for me!!!



And usually, I left Korea with a lot of art commissions as well as a bag full of promises to curious friends to create their bespoke aura portraits. The first one I did upon my return to the UK was a portrait of one of my dearest Korean friends, Rina 'Mighty Myo'. Fore the last year Rina not only has always been there for me but has also introduced me to many Korean metal bands, tattoo artists, and also very friendly concert-goers, which made my Korean staying more pleasurable. Her personality as well as her aura is definitely a burst of energy and I truly hope my painting did justice to her vitality. 


Rina ' Mighty Myo' - The wind at dawn
~ 재미 있는시간을 같이 보내줘서 고마워요 ~


The second portrait is of another old friend of mine, Jung Eil Huh, perhaps one of the first metal friends I met at a gig in Korea and definitely one of those people who really lives and breathe what Heavy Metal is all about. His aura somehow really matches his passion for metal with its purple and dark colours, like a moonless night (a little prince of darkness!)



Jung Eil Huh - The Moonless Night
~ 메탈 아자아자 화이팅~