Mavi: My art is mainly conceptual. I like to explore and experiment with different artistic techniques in both digital and traditional art. What I hope to convey with my works are feelings, emotions, moods and sometimes even some social provocation. I am very attached to the female subject, as I find it gives me the best way to express myself. I also consider myself a feminist, so I like to represent strong women in their sensitivity and delicacy.
BAO: How did your artistic journey begin? Tell us about episodes in the past related to your passion and your art.
Mavi: From what I remember, I have always been passionate about drawing, ever since I was in primary school. I was the classic pupil who, when the teacher was explaining, would distract himself by scribbling on a sheet of paper, in a book or on the desk. As I grew older, I started copying my favourite cartoons and manga, and I remember selling drawings of Milord (Sailor Moon) to my classmates. Later on, I undertook studies that took me away from art, such as scientific high school and business university. I remember one day in 2017, I was in Malta for work, during a time of discouragement and loneliness, I took a sketchbook and some pencil colours and started drawing. I haven’t stopped since.
When I returned to Sicily, I decided to get back into the game academically, enrolling in the Digital Art Nautilus Academy.
BAO: How does your creative process come about, what inspires you?
Mavi: Often “artists” experience moments of darkness and creative block, it’s an excruciating feeling.
I try to take advantage of them, I never stop and I start studying poses, techniques, things that even if far from the creative process always help me to keep my hand trained. Then, all of a sudden, a song, a film, an image is enough to trigger something and everything starts from there, you don’t want to detach yourself from the paper or the tablet (in my case the iPad).
I usually start by taking notes on the concept I want to create. If I need to, I create a mood board with reference images, then I start with a sketch on paper, the classic draft. When everything is as I imagined it, I scan the sketch and start working on my iPad, with the Procreate software.
BAO: What are the difficulties you face today in making your art known? What do you need?
Mavi: I think it is very difficult for an emerging artist to get known today, digital art has led to a sort of artistic renaissance and there are really many good artists, even self-taught and amateur ones.
Obviously people try to take advantage of social media, especially Instagram, but because of the high concentration of artists, it is more difficult to expand your followers organically without investing in sponsoring your profile and gaining visibility. What would you need? 250,000€, just kidding! I think it takes a lot of work, dedication and good luck, but also the ability to take advantage of certain opportunities.
BAO: How do you think authenticity relates to artistic creation? How do you experience it in your creative process?
Mavi: I think that those who love to create in life can only want their work to be authentic. It is true, however, that man is inspired by what someone else has done before, and this applies to every field.
So I believe that an artist can be inspired by another work and create a new and original one. Of course it is well known and clear that there are people who steal, copy and use other artists’ works without permission, and this is clearly bad.
As for my own creative process, I do use references for my works, but the result is always something different. I already have in mind what should come out at the end of the process, the references are just a means for certain details or to elaborate on compositions.
