Painting Emotions and Spiritual Energy Workshop in Seoul

Long overdue blog updates on the workshop I taught back in August 2014 at Jankura Art Space, Seoul.
It is always a pleasure to teach at Jankura and every time I go back to Seoul I am always looking forward to this opportunity. My previous Aura-focused workshop at Jankura back in April was well attended and positively received, so this time I wanted to do something similar yet different. As a result, I thought to explore further the theme of  'Perception of emotions' more than focusing on reading spiritual energy.

Because of this much broader approach, all of the attendees appeared to be even more engaged this time, (even though the workshop was taught in English and not everyone was fluent in it), mostly because everyone felt somehow familiar with the topic of feeling and expressing emotions. Through bespoke tutor-led exercises, during the workshop all the students were able to enhance their perception of emotions and use these to produce something artistic. 

The workshop concluded with students describing their paintings to the rest of the class, in an art critic-esque way, and why the emotions were painted as such. With my surprise even those less artistically gifted were able to create remarkable artworks and in the end left the workshop rather satisfied with their little masterpieces!!

Once again I would like to express my thanks to Mike Stewart, owner of Jankura, for inviting me at his art academy and, most important, for giving me this wonderful opportunity. 

~ See you all again soon! ~

New and last painting of the Midian series: MIDIAN (정아)

Finally the last painting part of the series dedicated to the Korean band Midian  is now completed!!! The latest portrait belong to the only female member in the band, second guitar, 신정아. In a still primarily male-dominated environment such as the Heavy Metal scene (this particularly in Korea where, from my experience, women into Heavy Metal and Rock seem to be almost as rare as diamonds...) being the only female member of a band means working much harder then the rest and always having to prove yourself.

신정아's energy is definitely a really strong and somehow a dark one yet it retains the sensitivity and kindness of femininity. Inspiration for the piece comes from a field of wild flowers basking in the moonlight. The picture in my mind was actually that of dark red or purple flowers but as I know nothing about flowers it was really difficult to find a suitable image in internet. I hope the one I found still gives the same feeling, as it is really similar to the vision I had in my mind before starting to paint. This piece is actually extra sparkling and the purple is really vivid: I did try to represent on canvas the effect of the moonlight reflecting on the delicate flower petals.

Midian (정아)
Wild flowers basking in the moonlight

New Painting: MIDIAN (보현)

Here it comes the penultimate aura painting for the Korean band MIDIAN, the portrait of their lead guitarists, 김보현.

Inspiration for the piece comes from the image of the somehow fairytale picturesque landscape such as that of a waterfall or a stream with ivy and musk growing along its banks (a bit on the line of those Arthurian landscapes visible in Lord of the Ring's Elven cities). I tried to convey in the painting the purity and strength of both running water and nature combined and give the feeling of something in continuous movement, which reminds me exactly of 김보현's energy.

MIDIAN (보현)

The powerful waterfall

New aura painting: MIDIAN (태호)

Here it comes the third aura portrait part of the series for the Korean band MIDIAN! This time is the aura and energy's inspired painting of the drummer and leader of the band, Kim Taeho.

Drummers are those musicians who stay almost completely hidden by their instrument and are not as visible as those who perform right at the front stage and can easily interact with fans during live shows. Taeho is not only a strong and charismatic leader but also a very dedicated musician whose passion for music (and Midian) is undoubtedly so strong it really touches the heart of whoever get to know him.

Inspiration from the piece came from the extraordinarily warmth of the glow of the red autumn leaves visible in Korea. The latter season is in fact the favourite of many Koreans mostly because of the wonderful tints that surface in the natural landscape during the period. (For those who have never been to Korea in that season I would really recommend a visit!)

MIDIAN (태호)

The glow of autumn leaves

Successful aura painting delivery across the world!

One of the biggest pleasure for an artist is without a doubt the opportunity to witness a satisfied commissioner (or the person for whom the painting was commissioned) receiving the desired painting and to see their happy face the first time they can hold the artwork in their hands.

During my recent visit to Seoul it was an absolutely delight to meet once again Craig Grillanda, one of the professional boxers for whom I was asked to create the Boxing Club Aura Series, and, most importantly, to pass the original painting directly to him in person. Here it is a photo of the occasion!

Boxer Craig Grillanda with  his very own aura portrait

Craig also helped me to deliver the aura portrait of his fellow colleague in the boxing ring, professional boxer Taek Min Kim, whom unfortunately I was unable to meet during my last trip to Korea. As a way to express his thanks and contentment Taek Min kindly sent me a few snapshots of him happily holding the painting. In the one uploaded here I love the boxing ring appearing in the background as it somehow add a touch of authenticity to the whole Boxing Club Aura Series!

Boxer Taek Min Kim  his portrai

New aura painting: MIDIAN (한울)

Second painting part of the series for the Korean band MIDIAN. The piece is the portrait of the charismatic band's bass guitarist Um Hanwool (엄한울).

In the painting I tried to replicate the feeling I had the first time I met the talented musician, that of the richness and warmth of the beautiful red, green and golden colours of an autumn forest at sunset. The finishing touch is unfortunately not showing in the digital format, but the original painting is extremely sparkling as I added an extra gloss coating with the aim to convey the feeling of the golden sunset sun rays coming through the tree leaves. With my delight I have found a photo in internet that may help to envision where the inspiration for the painting idea came from.

MIDIAN (한울)
The autumn forest in the sunset light

New Aura Series - MIDIAN (SIN)

It is always a pleasure to spend time in South Korea, a country with, without a doubt, I have been fallen madly in love. What made my last sojourn there even more enjoyable than usual was the fact that this time round not only I finally got to be fully introduced to the local Heavy Metal scene but I also became acquainted with several local bands.

One of these in particular, MIDIAN, caught my attention in full and bewitched me completely: in addition to the fact that their style of music and live performance match exactly my personal taste, the kindness demonstrated by the band members throughout my staying in Seoul was almost overwhelming: I got invited to see their rehearsals, album recording & mixing, and they made me feel welcome like I was a newly arrived band member.

As the band as a whole seemed to like my style of painting and appeared to be quite intrigued by the concept of aura painting, I left Korea with plans for future working collaborations such as a joint concert and art exhibition, promoter work and a full-house of aura painting commissions!

It is a total pleasure and humble honour to have the opportunity to repay such kindness with my art.
So here it comes the first of the paintings in the series, that of MIDIAN's vocalist, SIN.

His image and presence on (and off) stage is really remarkable, so I tried to capture his energy on canvas at my best. The feeling that I had was that of an impenetrable curtain made of a wall of thorns sparkling in the moonlight.

MIDIAN (SIN)
The wall of thorns

Boxing Club Series - New Painting!

My new painting part of the Korean Boxing Club Series!
This new piece is the portrait of a Canadian boxer (but with Italian relatives and from my very own home-town Ferrara!), Craig Grillanda, currently fighting professionally in South Korea.

Inspiration for the painting comes from a peaceful weeping willow tree covered in beautiful white snow in a winter morning, the first image that came to my mind when I met Craig in Seoul back in April. I painted his name in the centre of the composition like if it was carved in the frozen tree. 

After completing the painting I tried to find an image in internet that could illustrate exactly what I had envisioned and really happy, I think I fond it! It is so rewarding to see how similar the feeling of the two images, the real willow and my painting, is. 

Hope you like it!

Craig - The Willow Tree in a Winter Morning

Craig Grillanda

Aura Series - The Music Promoter

Whilst working on several other painting commissions, I took a break to paint this piece for one of my Korean friends, Sukchan Yusepina Park, who works as a music promoter across Asia. Thanks to him I got to see great gigs in Seoul and also met a lot of interesting and talented Korean and Japanese bands new to me. My friend seemed to be quite curious about my art, so I thought to painting him a portrait as a way to say thanks for the wonderful time spent together in Seoul.

~ It always makes me happy when people like my art and I can paint something for them as a pay back.

~ The Music Promoter ~

Boxing Club Series ~ New painting!

Following my recent trip to Seoul and after a lot of time since my last painting of this series, here it comes my new work for a Korean Boxing Club!! The new work is for Kim Taek Min, a boxer that I recently met in Seoul during the 'Night with the Boxers' event (see previous blog entry for details).

The feeling I had was that of a dangerous wild animal hidden inside a dark cave and ready to strike at any time. I tried to replicate this in the energy pattern of the painting so to give the feeling of a very intricate forest with many hidden enemies. The surface of this piece is really sparkling, like menacing eyes would glow in the dark from the thick of the forest.

Hope you like it!

 Taek Min Kim - The dangerous forest

Kim Taek Min

A night with the Boxers! ~ Talking about art and boxing

Earlier this month my friend Loren invited me to Gangnam in Seoul to attend an evening with some of the boxers for whom he commissioned my aura-inspired paintings a while back. During the evening they filmed a documentary on Korean, Japanese and international boxing with interviews of all the boxers. Although I was not really keen on being caught on camera, somehow I think I ended up being part of some of the filming...(gosh!). But I have to admit it was really interesting to listen to all of boxers' life stories and get to know how they started their career on the ring. 

Not only it was a great evening overall but I really enjoyed having the opportunity to finally get to know in person people for whom I created a painting that has since been replicated on their fighting gowns. Below is Jungsik and the portrait I did for him in 2012 (I was told that he actually lost the first fight fought wearing the robe with my portrait ~~ I felt a bit guilty about that!)

Additionally I had the pleasure to meet a few new boxers and ended up greeting goodbyes with a bunch of new commissions. So expect to see more paintings coming this way soon!!! I am so looking forward to paint more portraits...

~ Once again I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to my friend Loren for giving me an amazing opportunity as an artist and also for allowing me to be part of his boxing adventure. ~

Aura Painting Workshop in Seoul - The event!

On Saturday 12 April 2014 at Jankura Artspace 잔쿠라 아트스페이스 in Seoul I had the pleasure to teach a workshop on Aura Painting to a full house of art students with an interest in the esoteric.

 In truth I could not have asked for more!!! As usual the support and encouragement offered by Mike Stewart, Jankura's owner and director, was amazing and I have to say, after several weeks in Korea, I did really appreciate his idea of having a style pre-workshop 'lunch meeting' at one of the British pubs down the road from Jankura! (wow, what can you find in Seoul, hum? Excellent Fish and Chips like in England!)

After setting up the room with candles and all what necessary to create the right atmosphere, the workshop started off with a presentation on 'Aura and Energy' and how to use these as a source of creative inspiration for painting. But it was when the actually painting started that the workshop really took off. Only at the very end we discussed results and the meaning of the colours so none of the participant felt restricted by the fear of using the wrong colour during the painting session and were able to express themselves freely and painted what they felt more appropriate.

During the two hours students produced a lot of art: first a portrait of their own inner energy and subsequently a portrait of the energy of another person in the same room. I have uploaded here a selection of some of the work produced during the day.

Many students decided to paint my very own aura!  It was very interesting for me to see myself through their eyes and artistic skills. I was truly touched and mesmerized by their effort. Here following are a couple of examples.

Overall, what an amazing day!!! I am looking forward to return to Seoul and hopefully teach another workshop on the same theme.

~ SEOUL wait for me, I will be back!!! ~

Esoteric Art - more Aura Paintings!

Despite having painted these two pieces a very long time ago, I though to add this entry because for an artist the best reward of all is to see the faces of satisfied customers, even better when these are close friends.

These two pieces are part of my Esoteric art Aura series and are sketches in acrylics on papers. Due to the success of this series I am actually considering doing more esoteric art and I might participate to fairs and exhibitions on this theme, so watch out for more aura painting to come!!!

Aura Series - Mike

Aura Series - Liviana

Charity Work

After what it feels like a very long break, here I am, finally working on some artworks!!! It was about time I say!

This time I have created a long overdue series for a UK charity. There is nothing better than creating some art for a good cause so I am totally thrilled to be one of the participating artists. These pieces are extremely glittered and glossy despite the small size (CD case size, 12 cm x 12 cm) and I am pretty happy with the final result. I hope profits for their sale will help raise money for those in needs.

As soon as the pieces are up on sale I will  post here details of the charity, just in case someone might want to participate to the cause and buy some art!

Autumn's Colours 1

Autumn's Colours 2

Emotions Series - Anger

Emotions Series - Jealousy 

Emotions Series - Love