Since my early teens, when I found my mum’s oil colours and canvases, I have painted, until 2011. In painting I am self-taught. Not completely satisfied by my early tries, I started reproducing the paintings I loved the most: the Impressionists’ and Van Gogh’s. Trying to recreate their masterpieces was the greatest lesson I had in those years.
After graduation, I felt ready to express myself by painting personal subjects, especially countrysides and alleyways, but also portraits and self-portraits.
From 2001 to 2011 I painted about one hundred oil paintings in various sizes, many of them on commission. In those years, some paintings of mine were shown in solo and collective exhibitions.
It was a long time ago, but I remember very well the pleasure of seeing how a painting came out stroke by stroke. In those years, I lived in a country house in the centre of Italy with a large courtyard where I used to put my easel from spring to autumn. I could focus completely on my artwork without distractions. I often found myself immerse in a flow state of mind while painting for hours.
After our move to the UK, for many reasons – lack of a dedicated space, little time available, child caring – I opted for other media and techniques, suitable to do with children too, but I am still captivated by the expressive potential of paint. My oil colours are still waiting in a box in the in the garage, but acrylics and tempera paint are always at hand for me and my children.
I can say that painting rescued me from a very difficult time of my life. Thanks to painting I found again the light and the colours inside of me, but let the images speak.
The colours I have inside
My colours are the sunny tints of summer in Italy…
the light-shadow contrasts of the early afternoon…
the explosion of greens of a fully luxuriant nature…
transparent or brilliantly dark skies…
walls emanating and absorbing luminous radiations…
deep waters and blue shadows.
I paint the colours that I chase inside me, that sometimes I lose and sometimes I rediscover.
I thank all those who, over the years, have found a happy place for my paintings in their home.
If you are interested in my recent creations, torn paper collage portraits, check out the blog post Fun with Portraits course.
For my latest artworks head over to my artistic accounts on Instagram and Facebook.
Activity for kids – let them experiment with paint
I often let my kids explore the expressive fluidity of the paint. I prefer to offer them acrylic paint, or even better tempera paint, rather than oil colours, because acrylics and tempera are odourless, water based, easy to manage and to clean. In the picture my daughter’s early experiments with paint.
Once I tried and use oil colours (water based) with my son, one day he was at home with chicken pox… We paid tribute to Pablo Picasso by reproducing one of his cats.
Aprons, plastic table cover and lots of towels and hand wipes are very useful for this purpose.
Let’s get social!
Join in the conversation and see the latest Craftymessymom’s updates at instagram.com/craftymessymom and facebook.com/craftymessymom. Find Craftymessymom on Pinterest too!
Crafty Messy Mom 
Observing your paintings means hearing sounds and voices, feeling scents and touching these hidden gems. The colours of the nature have never been more real.
Thank you! I was in love with those places, they meant a lot to me…