I am a fan of Simona Candini’s art. I am lucky enough to own a few pieces. I recently interviewed her about art, inspiration and living in Italy. I hope you enjoy it.
How long have you considered yourself an artist?
I’ve actually considered myself an artist since I was a little child. In school, drawing was my favorite activity and often I preferred to stay at home and draw than going out and playing with the other kids. I guess I started to consider myself a professional artist though, only when I started to get recognition by the public and earn a living from my work.
Where do you find inspiration for your art?
I can find inspiration in about everything. My own experiences, people that I meet, a song, a book, a movie…nature, and of course art is itself a great source of inspiration. I particularly love a number of Pop surreal artists and the antique art of the old masters.
Your characters portray both light and dark elements – how do you find balance between the creepy and the cute?
I’m not sure where do I find this balance. I think that probably I’m very much like my art… a mix of dark and light all rolled into one. I don’t see the world black or white, there are so many gradients in between. That’s why my characters are not either good or bad, happy or sad,…but a little bit of this and that. I want my characters to be thick, to have a life of their own, and often they recur in more than one painting, like characters of a play.
Besides art do you have a favorite way to express yourself?
Not really, my paintings are my main form of expression. In the past I had several creative hobbies, like polymer clay, cross-stitch… but I prefer to concentrate my focus on one thing only. Now other than painting and drawing I love to go to museums, see exhibitions, visit cities, basically I like doing things that can enrich my vision and inspire my art.
What is your favorite thing about living in Italy?
Italy has a wide variety of situations, so I can only speak about my city. Bologna is a small city, you can find just about everything that you need, but it’s not too dispersive. That’s why I like it. I like the down town dimension, the possibility of wandering around without having to take the car, having everything at a walking distance. Also I love the fact that other beautiful cities are close to Bologna and you don’t have to cover huge distances to make a nice road-trip and go to see awesome museums, galleries or other cool things. I also love visiting castles and we have plenty around here.
Thank you very much for this interview, it’s been a pleasure to me. I want to take this chance to thank everybody that believe in my art, that support me with their love and all the people that inspires me to create. Much love to you all.
Find more of Simona Candini’s work on her website or Etsy shop.
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