New retailers for my cards!

From today you can find

my lovely cards in two new shops on

the Isle of Wight!

Chezabelles in East Cowes

is a passionate florist, with a special eye 

for arty bouquet!

I always dreamed to have my cards in a shop like this,

as a lot of my images are inspired by nature!

 Bluebells in Brighstone

is a gift shop,

set in the most wonderful little village,

where I love to go for recharging my soul, for the peaceful atmosphere 

and panoramic walks on the sea, where unspoiled beaches 

offer rest, beauty and magical days!

 If you ever come on the Island, 

you will not be disappointed in visit these two

little gems...

The picture book Village

A new project

has been brewing 

this winter....and

it's time for it to hatch now!

THE PICTURE BOO VILLAGE 

is an arty display 

which I'm dreaming to create at the 

QUAY ARTS CENTRE (Isle of Wight)

to collect WONDERFUL PICTUREBOOKS

to help children grow up with Beauty

and get the best visual education

with a selection of outstanding titles

from many cultures,

to help them develop a sense of adventure and self confidence.

I'm raising money to help build this dream, so please if you 

can help in this,

just drop a line below with your contact and I'll get in touch!

This dream is for all the children out there

who deserve to grow with colorful stories and 

beautiiful positive messages,

and for the ones inside of us all!

It will be at the Arts Centre for everybody who 

loves art in the form of a shelf!

Today we received the first donation

from the lovely tutors at Anglia Ruskin University

(Cambridge)

who are truly supporting this project...

Please help us to spread the voice!

Exhibition coming up!

Great news on the way !

With my artist friend Rosanna Pancot,  

we are delighted to announce our upcoming exhibition

at Quarr Abbey
from the 12 to the 17th of April 2018!

From 10,30 am to 16,30 pm
we'll be there to greet you, talk about our work and process,
and answer your questions, but
mostly
showing you or heart in colors!

I will bring lots of originals,

plus my ever growing 

range of cards, prints and posters!

Come and say hello if you're on the Island! 

We'll take with us many happy news too!

Food makes Art good !

Hello and Happy New Year!

This winter seems requiring quite a bit of color to cheer us up! 

I have been experimenting recently with some illustrations on the food theme.

I found a great website that showcase this type of work, 

They draw and cook, 

where you can submit your illustration with no selection, 

and the hosts give you also the possibility to choose to get good royalties in case your displayed work is requested. 

Here is my Atlantic Eggplant Boats

I really enjoyed exploring recipes and looking at real food, often so perfect and beautiful!

Another thing I have done and I can't recommend it enough , 

is to become a member of the AOI, Association of Illustrators, which is an invaluable source of advice and professional guidance about all that concern an artist in his/her practice, including contracts, pricing based on real works, legal advice... 

They also have a great newsletter where they update with all awards, international events, connected to this job.

The membership fee starts from £160 for a year, with the option to add your portfolio on their platform for another £40. 

HERE is mine!

They are connected with the major industries and agencies, so it was for me a great discovery, worthy to share. And you don't have to live in the Uk, to be part of this friendly group.

I am also carrying on learning

pattern design, and I just has so much fun 

incorporating in photoshop

a sketch with a background

pattern I was creating

Favorite podcasts of the month:

Arrest all mimics, a weekly podcast about all the aspects of illustration,UK
All the wonders, a choice of 4 programs about book illustration for young age, USA
Sleeping at last, this music band made by one great person mainly, about the creation of his songs ( I know, this is not strictly about visual arts, but such an interesting door on creative process!

Favorite books of the month:

Children's picture books, by Martin Salisbury
The Artist's way , by Julia Cameron, the greatest book about creativity I've ever read!

New materials and art stuffs I recently discovered:

illustration board, a very thick support that gives the possibility to paint with water based colors on paper, you can choose the texture like for watercolor paper, between cold press or smooth finish, I used it for this illustration with acrylics (Liquitex) and colored pencils (Faber Castell Polycromos).
Matt medium, a transparent medium that dries very matt, so you don't loose the work done underneath and can draw or paint on top.You can also use it as a glue for collage!
I used it for the butterflies on my eggplant boats illustration..

I hope you find this blogpost interesting, 

and I can't wait to share more news with you soon!

And the winner is...

And the giveaway winner 

( choosen with random number generator)

is...

MAGGIE MCKINNEY!

My 2018 calendar will be with you soon! 

thank you for participating!

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!

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:

listening to All the wonders podcasts

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?