"Orchis Purpurea" Painting

I’m a nature oil painter living and working in Umbria, Italy. My realistic, but somewhat magical style is grounded by hard research and a scientific approach, aimed at capturing the mysterious, dark side of a natural world as opposed to an anthropocentric vision of our reality and culture. As a teen, I studied in the atelier of famous Italian painter Pietro Sabatini, but then life took on a different path. After twenty years as an AD in a small company, I dropped everything to return to my art. Now my life is based on withdrawal from society and artistic research, with the aim of becoming an important figure in the contemporary world art scene. I paint plants and animals, exploring the mystery of their balance in a shared and fragile environment. In contrast with the traditional idyllic idea of nature, conceived as a way to give pleasure to the human eye, my vision is often dark and enigmatic. I get inspired by Pre-Raphaelites painters, in particular by their investigative approach to nature, by the background of Italian Renaissance portraits and by Flemish still life painters, in particular Otto Marseus Van Schrieck, inventor of the forest floor still life. My process is as sustainable as I can. I prepare every canvas from raw organic linen, avoiding rabbit skin glue and other animal products, constantly researching sustainable processes and materials. My philosophy is that it makes no sense to paint nature while polluting it.