Artist's statement

My first contact with Art was in Italy as a child in my father's mosaic studio. The translucency of mosiac fragments and the way colours can vibrate against each other always fascinated me.

These were mainly reproductions of early religious images where the use of symbolic figures made me realise that an Art image has its own reality. This and the spectrum of European Art is my attempt to create new expressive images.

Colour is very important to me, it helps me convey emotion in all my subjects. My landscapes and buildings are evocative of Tuscany, the land where I grew up. My figurative work is a symbol of human and self introspection. With the use of props, objects, clues, relating to the figure I hope to engage the viewer in my communication.



"My new series of paintings is about my experience of the North of England after nearly 30 years living in the region and also my memory of Tuscany where I was born.

I have now lots of memories from which to unleash my imagination.

As times go by my urgency to paint has become more and more pressing and I hope that can be seen in this latest series of paintings, in the spontaneous energy of the paint that I apply on the canvas with the combined use of the brush and palette knife.

I want to celebrate the beauty of the world that surround us here in the North of England and Tuscany in a semi-abstract way.

My love for colour combined with carefully constructed composition to hopefully achieve a pleasing balance, appreciating what we have, the landscape, nature, animals, coastline and the sea and all that beautiful inviting memories and the imagination that special gift that we have.

For me the need to allow memory and imagination to interact is vital."


My work is varied and often developed from an idea encountered during a journey that takes me in an unknown territory where I grow as an Artist. I usually work in small series of paintings, where memory and imagination come to interplay. Time made me more familiar with Northern landscape and it finally has left a mark in some of my work, as I become more intrigued by its drama and atmosphere.

I have gone back to the use of Ink wash for the dramatic effect of the black and white (and hundreds of subtle shades of grey in between). This medium is particularly suggestive for night scenes.

Another area I have experimented in is Monotype (sometimes used in conjunction with collage). This is still an original work, unique, but created with the use of printmaking tools like block printing inks, stencils and rollers etc. I use Line Drawing (Reverse Line Drawing) in my Monotype work as a means of defining a space or form, usually on textured handmade paper so that the line is more expressive in texture. As with the Line the space or subject is not completely defined, it leaves the viewer's imagination to interact with the work. After the initial Line Drawing I usually introduce an element of colour in the form of collaged handmade painted paper or Watercolour.

Also Linocuts, a technique particularly good for the effects of bold expressive images. These are very small editions. Some are in conjunction with the use of Watercolour or Collage, which makes each Print unique.


My current work is about economy of colour and composition.

After years of pitching the colours as high as I could get I am now experimenting with the opposite… an economy of colour, tones and composition. Essentially I think that all the mediums that I use in my never ending search intermingle with each other. Obviously the minimalist approach of the linocuts I have created in the past year or so - are now affecting my paintings in general.

My latest series of works is about nature’s little wonders; a simple leaf, a dragonfly, a little bird.

I try to convey the beauty of simple things that surround us, if only we can take the time to look. Birds, Hares, Insects and animals that surround us are starting to appear more frequently in my landscape work too, or even as images in their own right, as a main subject matter in my work.


“I was born and grew up in Tuscany, Italy. This has had a strong impact on my work. Pietrasanta is a place where art is part of everybody’s life; this medieval town, nicknamed ‘Little Athens’, is surrounded by Michelangelo’s marble mountains. My father was a painter and mosaic maker and he passed his love of painting onto me. Exposure to colour and geometry during my childhood encouraged me to study art and painting in Tuscany, sparking a passion for art which has never left me.”

“I feel very attracted by colour and its power to communicate emotions. I can’t explain why, as I have a very instinctive approach in the way I use it. As a child I played with colourful mosaic tesserae and I used to spend hours putting colours together until they felt right and almost vibrated. I guess there may be that child still inside me.”


“After spending many years living in the UK, I now have lots of memories from which to unleash my imagination.

As times go by my urgency to paint has become more and more pressing and I hope that can be seen in this latest series of paintings, in the spontaneous energy of the paint that I apply on the canvas with the combined use of the brush and palette knife.

I want to celebrate the beauty of the landscape that surround us here in England and Tuscany in a semi-abstract way.

My love for colour combined with carefully constructed composition to hopefully achieve a pleasing balance, appreciating what we have, the landscape, nature, animals, coastline and the sea and all that beautiful inviting memories and the imagination that special gift that we have. For me the need to allow memory and imagination to interact is vital."


Tuscan medieval Frescoes depicting biblical stories in a stylised manner have had an enormous influence in my early formation as an Artist. Even now my figurative work can still have reference to the Madonna icons and frescoes.

Often the female figure is represented in a symbolic and contemplative manner. I am fascinated by people and their mystery.

What are they thinking? And what is the association with the objects that they are surrounded with?

Giuliana
Boats ink wash