What made you approach art and become an artist? (events, feelings, experiences…)
I have always been a creative person for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories is picking up a crayon and scribbling away. It was always in my blood, and no matter what I did in my life (travelling, focusing on a career etc) I always came back to my creativity in one form or another. I only really became serious about painting particularly in the great lockdown of 2020, living alone it was an outlet while being locked inside for 6+ months, I was able to pass the time in a positive way rather than letting the loneliness get to me.
What is your artistic journey, techniques and subjects you have experimented with to date?
I truly believe to become a great artist you must experiment and play with as many mediums and techniques as possible, pushing yourself to try things that push you out of your comfort zone to take you further. I started with pencil and line drawing, then watercolour, gouache, acrylics and now oils. But along the way have experimented with textiles, clay, Recently ive started creating digitally which is really out the box for me and learning new skills.
What are 3 aspects that differentiate you from other artists, making your work unique?
Difficult question to answer, I'm a firm believer that there are no new ideas in art, just new ways of seeing.
I have an illustration background and rather than running away from it in my artistic career (like may artist do) I've embraced it and actually explored it. I love popular culture, so combining my illustrative training with my love of Pop Art seemed like the only move to me.
I love colour, and when I say this I mean BRIGHT colours. Some artists I know are terrified of colour, where I’m terrified of dullness. I have actually set myself a challenge recently to paint in just black and white because to me that is pushing me to do something I’m not comfortable with.
The third thing is I view art as escapism, like so many do. I use it to create joy and happiness in my day to day life, this is why my images are playful, tongue in cheek, I have fun. So mix this element with the aforementioned ones and you get my artist innovation.
Where does your inspiration come from?
Im inspired by a lot of different things, I have a personal saying of 'try anything once' as I really believe the way to learn and grow more not only as an artist but as a person also, is to experience everything life has to offer. But I believe my main source if inspiration comes from Popular culture, the world around me, social media. I’m a Millennial, I remember a time before the mobile phone and internet (just) so the ease of access to popular culture and content has changed within my lifetime. What was once only seen by 500 people can now be seen by 5 million in 24 hours. It's an endless source of inspiration and ideas, shared within a global community.
What is the intent of your art? What visions, sensations or feelings do you want to evoke in the viewer?
I like to play with art, to have fun. For me art is a joyful expression of my passions and loves and an outlet for my stress an anxiety. I was diagnosed with type two bipolar 10 years ago and my creativity/art practice has been closely linked to my journey in managing and dealing with this disorder.
I guess I want the view to experience the form of escapism I made for myself within the work, to see people how I view them and just visually enjoy the work.
What is the process of creation of your works? Spontaneous or with a long preparatory process (technique, inspiration from art classics or other)?
I do both. Some days I just feel like painting so I'll just go for it with no real plan in mind and see where it leads me. Other times I have a clear idea of my goal or I know what process I want to follow so these paintings tend to be longer and more intense. I am very self critical and If I personally dont like a work it normally ends up in the bin, I actually get anxiety of I do a painting I really don't like, it will physically keep me awake at night, so you will often find me in the garage at 2am fixing things.
What techniques do you prefer?If yes, can you explain it?
When people ask me what my style is I say Pop Art Impressionism. I like the bright bold colour use of pop art but the fluid brush movements of Impressionism. So I hover in this in between zone in my opinion but it's so subjective. I prefer to use Oil paint because it gives me a longer working time, as I am so critical there is always something that I need to change.
Are there any innovative aspects to your work? Can you tell us which ones?
My colour choices tend to be the most innovative element of my work. im oftern thinking how can I get MORE vibrant colours into work.
Do you have a format or medium that you are most comfortable with?If yes, Why?
Oil painting is now my go to, which is crazy to me because 10 years ago I would have said gouache for life. But I love the flexibility of the paint, allowing you to manipulate it for days and build layers or blend/glaze to an inch of its life.
I do work with mixed medias frequently. Mainly Acrylic and Oil together, i love the vibrancy of acrylics and the way I can block colour quickly with it.
Where do you produce your work? At home, in a shared or private studio? And within this space how is your production organized?
When I move to Adelaide I purposely looked for a house with a garage I could convert into a studio/creative space. So this is now my dedicated work space. Its crazy, I also sew and craft so the space looks like a art/craft shop. Its my happy space and a place I spend at least 2-3 hours in every day, especially if i've had a hectic day at the day job. It often looks like a bomb went off.
Does your work lead you to travel to meet new collectors, for shows or exhibitions? If so, what do you gain from it?
Starting my artist career in the midst of the pandemic has meant that I haven’t really been able to get involved with physical exhibitions, shows or events. Online galleries like ArtMajeur have been my main areas of exposure and sales. Getting out into the real world is certainly on my list of things to do now the world is slowly getting back to normal.
How do you imagine the evolution of your work and your figure as an artist in the future?
It may sound simple to some but having my own personal exhibition is my dream right now. I am focusing on getting to this, developing my works to find a collection that I am proud to exhibit. So I'm just continuously pushing myself to try new things and go to as may creative shows as possible to absorb ideas.
What is the topic, style, or technique of your latest artistic production?
The work that is currently on the easel is a portrait (not surprisingly). It’s a black and white tonal study of an Australian KPOP Idol. The idea behind this work is to push me out my comfort zone by not using colour which means I have to focus on tone and brush work. While the work also address issue of cultural stereotyping and identity. It just being monotone is so alien to me, so it's really testing me and take a long time to complete.
Can you tell us about your most important exhibition experience?
Ironically the most important exhibition experience was not my own, but another artist. I saw a Jenny Saville exhibition when I lived in London, and it totally changed by ideas about portrait art, but also women's roles within portraiture. I had also never seen portraits done on that scale with that much fluidity and that's something that really impressed me. I was in awe of this woman that had created these works, and it truly made me believe that this was possible for me if I wanted it that much.
If you could have created a famous work in the history of art, which one would you choose? And why would you choose it?
Hans Holbein the Younger and his “Portrait of Sir Thomas More”. When I say this it throws people they always think I’m going to go with a pop artist like Lichtenstein but I love this painting. Holbein was creating the pop art of his time, focusing on portraits of leading figures that were not just political and religious but also cultural and socially influential. Ironically he has recently been propelled into popular culture himself with the West End musical Six, in the song Haus of Holbein. His painting of Sir Thomas More is just divine, his use of light, tone and how he has created these sumptuous fabrics within the painting. Also how he works into his painting hidden meanings and symbolic references, for example ‘The Ambassadors” still purples people to this day with its symbology and meaning. When I look at this painting to think it was painted in the 1520’s is just mind blowing.
If you could invite a famous artist (dead or living) to dinner, who would it be? How would you propose him/her to spend the evening?
Besides wanting to meet Banksy (just so I know who he is) the artist I would most like to meet is Artemisia Gentileschi. An accomplished 17th Century female painter from Italy. I'd love to know her lift story, the trials and tribulations she faced. How she challenged the status quo of the time to be a female artist which is just unthinkable at the time. I think we would probably have all the best intentions for a creative night together but just end up drinking 3-4 bottles of wine and contemplating life.
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli
