pleasant presences Painting

Margherita It is always difficult for me to describe myself. My name is Margherita Cagnoni and I was born in Yellowknife, Canada. I grew up in a small town near Pisa in Tuscany, Italy. I still remember the sweet, intoxicating smell of the Tuscan countryside as we played in the hot, lazy, summer afternoons. I currently live in the beautiful Garfagnana area near Lucca. For those of you who have not had the good fortune to visit this magical place, you can imagine stunningly beautiful Oak, Chestnut and Beech forests hosting a plethora of ethereal creatures: fairies, goblins and pixies. These are my inspiration. I studied at the State Institute of Art in Cascina where I learnt a range of techniques, for a variety of diciplines such as painting and ceramics, from local artists and masters. I have always had a deep fascination for the world and its different cultures, and this has lead to a passion for travelling. Over the years, my trips to various parts of the globe have enabled me to be 'freer' in my thinking. The artist in me has been shaped and enriched by my lack of assumptions and preconceptions about the world. My work has been shown at several exhibitions and many of my paintings are now found in private collections both in Italy and abroad. I have chosen acrylic and wood as my media. I love the contrast between these materials and how a natural medium like wood can marry a synthetic material like acrylic and ennoble it. I really hope that people will feel inspired by my work when they stop to look at it. Most of all, I hope they will feel the emotions of the original dream that brought it all into being. For in the end, we are like butterflies, flapping their wings for a day and dreaming of eternity.