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What prompted you to create art and become an artist? (events, sensations, experiences...)
My first ion was certainly cinema. Painting came later, at a critical moment in my life.
What is your artistic background, the techniques and subjects you have experimented with so far?
Breathing art in my family. My father, a painter and artist, contributed to my ion which later turned into my profession. His presence has always been silent, he accompanied me in my pictorial research without ever interfering with my choices and my work. I don't think I could have done anything else. I grew up in a family, and in an environment, where painting was the photograph of what we were together with it at that precise moment. I can only be a painter today. I also matured through canvases and the man I am today, for better or for worse, is certainly the result of this infinite artistic research. Any form of art obviously fills my curiosity. It could not be otherwise.
What are the 3 aspects that differentiate you from other artists, making your work unique?
I consider myself unique as an individual, like each of us on this planet. As a painter I cannot evaluate myself and I think it is always very complicated to define the uniqueness of a work and of a painter. It certainly helps the contextualization of his work, of his historical period, of the Schools and of the artists, but being unique, for whom and for what can really be a prerogative, perhaps for those very few Geniuses who have made Art masterful.
Where does your inspiration come from?
Now I love the classics . My path was different in the past, I also experimented with painting through the use of materials that were "other" than color. And I found "personal" stories within stories bigger than ourselves. Research is the basis of my ion, which I am fortunate to experience as "my craft." And that is how today I revisit the great classics, the ones I love most, live and know, always with an interpretation that I try to represent, however, according to Paolo Damiani and on tiptoe.
What is your artistic approach? What visions, sensations or feelings do you want to evoke in the viewer?
To renew a gesture, the use of color and brushstrokes, in a painting with a classical, ancient flavor. Contemporaneity seen through centuries of history. We are so "Now," because of what we have lived, because of our connection to the past. Our today is the result of what we have been. It doesn't just apply to me.
What is the process of creating your works? Spontaneous or with a long preparatory process (technical, inspired by art classics or other)?
I don't have any rules. My work can be quick or follow a very long preparatory process. It is on the canvas that the painting process develops with the unpredictable times: repeated trials, erasures, and then color overlays, revisits. Until I see, and feel, that the result is what I was looking for.
Do you use a particular working technique? if yes, can you explain it?
Simply painting.
Are there any innovative aspects to your work? Can you tell us what they are?
I can't answer that. I would call myself "unique," and I don't think that's possible. But I hope I am good and who knows, maybe for those who collect me, innovative. The point is to figure out what is innovative today.
Do you have a format or medium that you feel most comfortable with? If so, why?
Right now definitely painting, but as I said before, I would also like to experiment with other techniques, including photography.
Where do you produce your work? At home, in a shared lab, or in your workshop? And in this space, how do you organize your creative work?
My workshop is located in my home. Being an early riser, the workday starts very early. Generally the morning is my favorite part of the day to work.
Does your work lead you to travel to meet new collectors, to fairs or exhibitions? If so, what does it bring you?
In part. I travel and meet when I can. The organizational and relationship part, however, is left to my gallerist.
How do you envision the evolution of your work and career as an artist in the future?
I don't know. If I worried about my future I wouldn't be able to produce. We artists never retire.
What is the theme, style or technique of your latest artistic production?
I am working on the relationship between cinema and painting. How much artworks have influenced filmmakers, their films, even precise sequences.
Can you tell us about your most important exhibition experience?
Impossible. I would have to list you every single exhibition experience. Each exhibition, collective, personal, represented a piece of me through my paintings. I cannot answer that. What I can tell you is that during the fairs I compare myself with other artists, and that is amazing, every time.
If you could create a famous work in art history, which one would you choose? And why ?
Rembrandt and his self-portraits: he was a brave, free man. I am fascinated by his works. They have an extraordinary strength, able to represent beyond his time, even the contemporary world.
If you could invite a famous artist (living or dead) to dinner, who would it be? How would you suggest they spend the evening?
Francis Bacon. I would talk about everything with him. Even subjects other than art.....but then, you would end up discussing them, of course. Too bad that's not possible.
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli 
