The challenge to express one's own world beyond the mere illustration - Artist Lucia Guarnotta

 "To create one's own world, 
in any of the arts, takes courage". 

- Georgia O'Keeffe

© Lucia Guarnotta

Tales for Creative Minds: Tell us a bit about yourself:  My name is Lucia Guarnotta, I'm Italian and I live in Tuscany. Since I was very young my first interest was drawing so I studied arts in high school and eventually did the Academy of Fine Arts. After school I began as a graphic designer with a small Design Studio called "Naos" where I worked with my brother and a friend of mine, Cecilia. The "Naos" lasted only few years and then we decided to close it and choose different paths.

Each year I used to participate in a traditional art exhibition held in my town during the summer, called "Rotonda" where I met a publisher and licenser who was looking for an artist for some dog art prints, so it began my career as illustrator. The first illustration I was commissioned to do represented a couple of dog puppies playing on the grass, created with tempera on paper. 

TFCM: How did you develop your art style?  There is no trick or secret, only practice and patience and good masters at school! I went through different stages: at first when I was very, very young my paintings looked like vector images with no shades, made by a complicated interlace of flat fields of colors. Then they became more and more realistic over time but always with a solid detailed drawing on the background.

© Lucia Guarnotta

TFCM: What tool/s and medium/s do you prefer to use?  Well, as for traditional illustrations, I like handmade illustrations, I prefer tempera or gouache or/and acrylics, but it depends also on the kind of illustration you have to do. Each media has its own characteristics so it is better to change the media to fit the needs of the project or painting  you are working on or even work with mixed medias or digital media sometimes.

TFCM: What challenges have you faced in developing as an artist? Challenges ... well, every time I begin a new illustration or project is a challenge ... the real challenge for an artist is to be able to express their own feelings, poetry, his or her world beyond the mere illustration and even beyond the actual subject of the illustration or painting. It doesn't matter what you are drawing or painting, the challenge is to express your thoughts, express yourself. Actually it can be a little difficult when you work on someone else's project, as an illustrator I mean .... it's sometimes frustrating, but it is also a job, not pure art! The challenge in this case is to be able to mediate between your art and the job!

© Lucia Guarnotta

What other artists would you say have either inspired or influenced your own work? For my experience the influences or inspirations arrived from the world outside, especially from the colors, or sometimes from my interests beyond the art itself or from my own feelings -  rarely from the works of someone else. Even if I admire a lot of artists and their work, they have not influenced me directly except for the colors. I'm always influenced by the colors!

TFCM: In your view, how does knowledge and experience influence an artist's work? Each person is influenced by their own background, experiences,  knowledge, culture, and for artists it is not different. The knowledge of art and its history could be an important beginning point.

© Lucia Guarnotta

TFCM: How important is experimentation with media in developing one's craft? Experimentation belongs to the forming path of every artist but it continues during all his or her life. No doubt, it is never too late to learn.

TFCM: Can you share a routine technique you use in your paintings?  Once again no trick... I begin with the drawing that it must be as much detailed as possible, I spend a lot of time on drawing, developing, and finishing each part of it. It is better, easier and faster to draw by hand, even the illustrations that will be then painted using a computer with software like Photoshop or Corel Painter. Then I go on with the painting process with the chosen media, usually beginning from the background and according with the media technique.

TFCM: What is your view on the development of an artist's style?  The artist style comes from different aspects, first of all from their own skill, then from their personal way to "feel the world," and then from the goal they have chosen for their work. The style of an artist develops with their own painting technique; they are often the same thing.

© Lucia Guarnotta

TFCM: What is/was your experience as a freelance? Hard life, especially now!

TFCM: What were some challenges in selling your work? I have a very detailed and realistic style. It means a lot of work and a lot of hours, everybody usually appreciates this so the challenge in the past was only to be paid enough, but now it's to find  good commissions. Due to the global crisis the publishers and manufacturers tend to save as much money as possible, well, here in Italy  at  least ... so there are fewer jobs for illustrators like me in comparison to the past decade.

What's more, in the past I've worked most as a naturalistic illustrator, due to my style. I worked a lot in this branch of illustration and I had little time and interest, even economic interest, to develop a different style... maybe an "quicker" or a "fictional style" that now I could sell more easily! It is my fault of course, my mistake! There is also to say that there are a lot of wonderful illustrators from the eastern countries near Italy, where life costs less and who can work for lower rates in comparison to an Italian illustrator. There is not only one reason of course, but now it is not an easy life!!

© Lucia Guarnotta

TFCM: Do you have any upcoming projects that you can share with us?  I'm working on a book... but I cannot share it at this moment! I have also some projects in mind, more fantasy-oriented but for now they are only ideas!

You can find more about Lucia on  

Behance, or Linkedin, or on her website.