Interview
Blinded by Beauty.
I was born and raised among fabrics, breathing love for tailoring and craftsmanship. To include fashion in my inspiration has never been a choice, but an unquestionable certainty. Valentina Battaglia
by Patrick Morgan
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When did you first get into drawing?
I can't really tell when exactly did I start drawing, art has been part of me since I can recall. My favourite activity has always been to draw and colour every single piece of paper I could put my tiny hands on.
Why did you choose to make fashion part of your inspiration?
Fashion is the fil rouge that binds my family together. I was born and raised among fabrics, breathing love for tailoring and craftsmanship. To include fashion in my inspiration has never been a choice, but an unquestionable certainty.
What is your particular working day as a creative?
Day's never look the same for a creative, which is exactly what I love of this job. It depends so much on the kind of deadlines of the specific period, some days I don't even have the time to eat or sleep, some days are more free and I can focus on painting for pleasure. Anyways, whether I have a ton of work to do or it is a quiet period, my day's always start and end with a pencil in my hand.
What tools do you use when creating your images?
Whether I'm working on some brand's outfit illustration or an outfit I make up, the first thing I do is lots of research. The need to illustrate fashion first came to me as a need to answer to my curiosity. While I draw I ask myself questions about how a garment or an accessory is made. If one pic is not enough I look for others until I can perfectly understand their construction. I also spend lots of time studying the body's pose underneath clothes. I often first draw the whole body and then put the dress on it afterwards. It helps a lot to predict how the fabrics are going to behave and fold on the body once dressed. I think tablets for digital drawing are incredible tools, at the same time though I find it impossible to 100% replace the immediateness of sketching with a pencil on paper.
Who or what has influenced you over the years as an artist?
The most important influence on my art definitely comes from my family, I am very lucky to have been raised in such an inspiring environment, where I've always felt supported and that has fed me with art and culture from the very beginning. I've been taught that beauty can be found anywhere, it can shout and be obvious but also be silent, weird or hidden. I've been taught not to limit myself to just look around, but to observe and always take mental notes. Rome might have played an important role as well. I honestly have a love/hate relationship with my hometown, but culturally and artistically it definitely is one of the most rich and inspiring cities of the world.
What advice do you have for younger artists looking to be part of this industry?
My advice for who wants to be part of this industry is to study and do lots of research, never however losing sight of who they are. Trying to be someone else is only tiring and never takes to good results. We need to be coherent with ourselves, looking to improve our skills comparing our work to nothing else than our own previous work. The beauty of humanity is that it is various and diverse, each and one of us has something unique to express. That uniqueness is what makes a work interesting. If all the artists' works looked the same there wouldn't be creativity or innovation anymore. It's good to take a look around, be influenced and influence other artists in order to always create new interesting combinations, but taking inspiration from the outside doesn't mean to forget who we are on the inside. I think the secret is to mix those two ingredients together and find the perfect balance. Stick to your uniqueness!
What are you drawing today? Music are you listening to? Books that you're reading?
Favourite artist/designer at the moment?
I recently haven't been working on one single personal project, I've been making smaller studies. I like experimenting face proportions, I find it very relaxing.
As a music lover I have a playlist for any occasion. The one dedicated to drawing is mainly inhabited by Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, Sigur Ròs, Pink Floyd, Chet Faker, James Blake,...
On my nightstand there currently is "Blindness" by Josè Saramago. Although the main theme of the book is the blindness, and perhaps just because of that, I think it is a very stimulating book from the visual point of view. We're used to picture the stories of the books in our minds while reading, we're definitely not used to read and see the pictures of the story vanishing throughout the book.
I have a long list of artists that I love. Some of them are: Lucien Freud, Meredith Frampton, Glyn Philpot, Vilhelm Hammershøi, Paul Wonner, Jan van Tongeren, David Hockney, Charles Sheeler, René Rimbert, Gerald Leslie Brockhurst, Guy Diehl, Edward Povey, Jessica Matier,...
As for designers, I loved last Alberta Ferretti's runway show (for which I've been so happy to join FIDA x Alberta Ferretti live drawing event). I also love Ports1961, Loewe, Marni, Burberry, Jil Sander, Acne Studios, Ellery, Dries Van Noten, Andrea Pompilio, Sunnei, Coach, Ganni, Proenza Schouler, the Row, and many more...
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