"Pride" Drawing

My name is Alessia, I am Italian, I live in Berlin, and I have been a full-time artist since February 2023.
My tool is the pencil, and my main interest lies in realistic portraiture.

MY ART
Around these two cornerstones, I experiment with various media—mainly colored markers and gold leaf—which introduce recurring stylistic elements like dots, curls, and circular forms. These doodles often intertwine with the portrait, creating surreal-magical scenarios within realism. I believe this dual stylistic approach reflects the ambivalence in my personality, leading both my art and personal growth to progress side by side. My main themes are human ambivalence and self-exploration.

HOW I STARTED
My artistic journey began at 15 when my father brought home a solid wood easel from Porta Portese in Rome. Since then, I have constantly created, filling every space with paintings and drawings, which have accumulated into a large body of work.

EDUCATION
Throughout this journey, I never actively pursued the art market. My education evolved in a self-taught, independent dimension. I occasionally sold works through word of mouth or on commission. Meanwhile, I earned a degree in Sociology with a specialization in Communication and Media at La Sapienza University in Rome. I later worked as a web designer for Matematici.srl in Rome and specialized in design at IED – Istituto Europeo di Design. In 2011, I felt the need for change and visited a friend in Berlin, where I decided to move a month later and start working independently.

THE PENCIL
In Berlin, I lived in an almost unfurnished apartment with only the essentials and no space for my oil paints, brushes, or easel. All I had left was a pencil—light, inexpensive, and always within reach. It became my tool, and since then, I have been passionate about it.

COLLABORATIONS
In Berlin, I was able to shift my focus entirely to art, and as a result, I secured several significant collaborations. One was with FM Architettura (Italy) for regular pencil drawings. Another was with RBA Branding & Design (Milan), which led to a series of pencil drawings titled Le donne for Terza Rima craft beer labels (Togni Group). Meanwhile, I continued working as a freelance web designer for Parkinglist, a startup.