Friday 27 October 2017

GIVEAWAY !


GIVEAWAY! 

To celebrate my gratitude to all my lovely  followers, 
I host a giveaway, which means a GIFT of... one of my colourful 2018 calendars! 



To win this prize just 
SHARE this post between all your friends on social media
Which you can do at the bottom of this post)
and ENTER a comment below saying which is your favourite month and why! 

I 'll ship this gift worldwide! 
Please spread the voice ...
winner will be announced on Saturday 4th November!

Tuesday 17 October 2017

New doors...

Hello Everyone!
The new season brings new colors, 
and with them new ideas and insights...

( a walk in the woods can generate a color palette!) 

 I recently took some on line courses after the very intense and inspirational Childrens book Illustration summer school at Cambridge ( which I described here ).
The one I'm enjoying the most is The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design, with Rachael Taylor and Beth Kempton, who founded the Make it in Design Company. 

I have been always drawn to pattern and wondered how I could create my own designs to use in my illustrations... 

(creating a new illustration with a fab pattern as background)

With this amazing course, and this generous, knowledgeable and enthusiastic teacher  I'm learning some simple ways to make this  happen, and having fun at the same time, with lots of creative exercises !

(one of my first pattern exercises)

Through this time of learning, I can see how Art is not just painting, but an entire approach to life,  expressing one self in our own way. 
It 's taking care of ourselves and what matters for us.
In fact, Art is about giving form -in a imaginative way-  to what matters for us.

( Love for nature is something I always try to encourage, through my work)

Learning new skills reminded me 
that we can't expect to start from the end, where we see our favorite artists already are. We can't expect to skip all the learning steps! 

(my first basic physical box repeat pattern)

I'm learning that the best Art happens when our heart warms up, looking at something, thinking at something, or doing something.
That is not which materials we use, but what we want to say with them, that make it happen.

(visiting the House of Illustration, in London)

I also wanted to share with you what inspired me most during this month:
discovering new favourite illustrators like Catia Chien
using Adobe Capture app for mobile phones ( to create color schemes)
visiting Quentin Blake exhibition at The House of Illustration
and
visiting my native Country: Italy!

( a view over Valmarecchia, Emilia Romagna)

What have been inspiring you recently?