What have I been up to?

Hello everyone,
I hope you are all fine and dandy, I am thankfully.

I have been up to a few things lately, besides settling in our new place, this summer I have tried my hand in home-schooling and spent lots of time with my little girl which only translated in me becoming even more of a kiddo than I used to be.

I have gone on swings and slides!!!!

It was awesome.

I never understand why people are so stuck up as adults and forget how nice it is simply to have fun and do stuff that makes that little kid inside you laugh.
Well, as I am approaching my 41st birthday I don't think there is any hope for me to grow up anymore if I haven't done so till now, I decided to remain the kid I have always been.

More Art news now, I have been doing works and trying new things like acrylic paint which I hadn't used much in the past and I must say I did enjoy it.

Another thing I have enjoyed very much was paint a vase with flowers.
It is probably one of the most popular things to paint, one can be as great as the other, but results aside I found it extremely therapeutic and relaxing.

As it happens, it is now hanging on my hall wall and looks very good on it.

I also have done other stuff which I am going to show you, I hope you'll like it.

Blessings to all of you, be safe, be happy and grateful, I found out that life has incredible surprises for us if we let go of the rains and let it take us where we are meant to be.

 And more
https://www.facebook.com/220983524692572/photos/pcb.253016794822578/253016574822600/?type=1&theatre

XXX Izzy

New Home/Old Home

It's fantastic moving home, especially if you move somewhere you longed to be, and find yourself in a better place.
I am now in a place I love -Manchester- where I feel at home and also close to the people that truly count in my life besides my boyfriend and my daughter, oh, and our pooch of course.

I found myself in Manchester and I, most of all, I learnt to love myself in this beautiful city.

 Our move has proved to be a good choice so far as we are enjoying living in here much much more.
I remember thinking I was going to exile when I moved to Dewsbury, and a lot of times it felt that way.
Never the less I am grateful for that time, I can even say that just before we moved here I had made peace with the fact that I was living there and tried to take the best out of it.
Being alone and sometimes lonely is actually very cathartic; as out of my element as I felt, I think I proved myself that I could find something good in really any situation: good or bad.
Plus, I had the time I need to look inside and find what I wanted without distractions, and I did find a lot of new dreams and hopes.
But, being here is a joy and I am not surprised the move happened in a moment when I was more contempt, as who knows me well also knows that I believe in The Law Of Attraction and what you attract matches the mood/vibe you give out.
 I also believe that we can still manage to get something good out of  many sad situations.
Today I had some sad news about someone I cared about, I realised that they touched me more than I thought because the idea of not seeing them again made me incredibly sad, yet, a part of me was amazed at the fact that although I had spent very little time with him I was touched so deeply.
I will miss him, but I was lucky to know him.

It will not heal the loss quickly but it is realizations like this that are a bit of a "soul-painkiller" in times of sadness.
I wish to them who were closer to him and feel his loss more deeply than I do, to find these little pieces of relief while they come to terms with it; to him to be happy wherever he is, I am sure he is leading the party!
Now, a departure from the sadness and a bit of news about my art.

With my move happening I couldn't help but thinking of my BIGGEST MOVE EVER, when I left Italy.
Although Manchester feels like home, there are other places that have felt that way during my life which is why I am going to make a series of Art Works dedicated to those special corners of the world where my heart felt cosy and to belong.

The first one is published on this page, and of course is my Birth-Town and where I grew up: Rome.
There are other places who are just as dear to my heart and there will be there for more photos, stay tuned to find out which places are they some are more popular, some not so much, but maybe you'll appreciate their beauty just the same.
Be Blessed, through joy and sadness
Izzy

Just a little update

Sorry everyone for going silent, I have been very busy moving home.
From the 24th of may I am once again a Manchester resident YEY!!!
I love this place and I am s happy to be back living here.
More art will come, also because I have now my own little study, which is still a work in process but I hope will be up and running soon.

For a few weeks I have also taken a new adventure: home schooling my child; I hope we'll find a good school soon that she can start attending in September, so that she can go back and enjoy other kids company and me have time for arts and crafts while she does so.
Meanwhile tho it's up to me to teach her some basic of education, I hope I'll be good enough to make it interesting and fun; as for you my dears, stay tuned because there might be occasional little surprises if I find some time to sit and create.
Be blessed and happy
Izzy

When doodling turns into art.

Doodleely-doodleely-doo!

Let's start with a piece of brutal honesty: you don't need to be an artist to doodle.
 Matter of fact most people love to do it while they talk on the phone or while they listen to someone talking  during an office meeting. I used to do it while reading tarot cards when I was working for a telephone services company.
It relaxed me and somehow made my attention sharper, not to mention it saved me more than once  from falling asleep during lectures (I remember doodling a portrait of Attila on a friend's book while my teacher was talking about him, on and on she went while on and on I put finishing touches on the great Hun caricature I was doodling; it was hilarious and most of what she said about him I remembered it because I remember while I was doing the drawing, go figure).

Anyway, I don't know if any other artist had this happening to them, but occasionally, some of those doodles turn out to be awesome art, or even just nice. But most important is that they are not something you'd chuck in the bin once it's finished.

It is perhaps because we are relaxed while we do it, or because we just let it all out without "thinking it" too much; stroke by stroke, the perfectionist in us, overrides our thoughts without us noticing it and POP! We hang the phone after that long conversation with our mom and here it is a piece of magic between all those curls and lines, a piece of art that we wished we hadn't ruined with all the other stuff we scribbled around it, because it is actually a pretty nice art work.

Am I alone in this?

I mean, I am not Giotto but lately I have been a recurring doodling attack while listening to a radio show by my favourite musician, turned radio blogger Darren Hayes.
If you are into self development and positive thinking this is your guy by the way, actually this is your guy if you simply are into being alive and make the most of it.
But in short, this lad's show has me thinking a lot and while I do that, off the pencil goes!
He talks and I start doodling, and I am not really paying attention at what I doodle but after a few pretty turn outs I decided to keep some kind of scribbling device and draw away while I listen to him.
Most of the stuff is un-coherent scribble however I have occasionally produced something I felt like keeping, and even showing off.

I am going to show you a few of these drawings which have been created while listening to Mr Hayes show

Sometimes pretty artwork doesn't even require an incredible talent, sometimes our hand just follows our thoughts in its own original way and brings those feelings out on paper.
People should give it a try, while you are listening to something or watching something that is making you think; just keep some paper and a pen around; a tablet with a drawing app is good as well as you can see.
Watch what happens, some pieces might end up in the trash bin, but some will be worth keeping and they will tell you more about yourself than some hard thought art work that took you weeks to complete.
Happy doodling :)

My very first Interview!

Once again  I want to say thanks to Lurking Musing for giving me this space in their Vampire Month blog.
It is all very exciting because this is my very first interview as an artist and because it is about my most favourite subject to paint, draw... fantasize about.

In this interview I talk about my art, my inspirations, the sexiest vampire I have seen and the most powerful.

I am sharing a video of "The Walk in the Virgin Megastore" from Dracula 2000 by Wes Craven , so that you get a good idea of what I am talking about.
 I have actually seen a lot of art work been inspired by this movie; I have not done anything myself -yet- but I guess many talented pencils agreed with me in finding this particular version of Dracula very inspiring.

The teenager in me is also quite enjoying reading Vampire Academy , I am at book number three of the saga and I sense an art work coming from it, so stay tuned if you are a fan of the novels.

Ken Bromley Art Supplies catalogue was just delivered by my postman, so please forgive me this moment of awe while I go through the pages and imagine having the money to buy those beautiful brushes that I could do so much with right now.
This Series 201 Long Handled Acrylic Brushes are so alluring that if they were a walk they would be that Dracula walk in the Virgin Megastore in Dracula 2000! I am going to use my superpowers to bring them to me!

First Post... where do I start?

Let's start to say thank you for being part of my journey to immortality.
This Pages have been created to pursue that dream, and share with the world my passion for figurative arts and other stuff that touch my soul.
But let's stick on the main subject for now.
About a year ago I started a journey to rediscover myself, and what I loved to do.
I decided that life was worth living in the way I chose, the way I saw fit and the hell with the conventions, I was going to be unapologetically myself.
So, what do I love to do?
DRAWING.
And I have been indeed busy.
My first project was to find a Muse, which as you can guess from my gallery I found in the form of Gerard Butler, but you know, he isn't the only beautiful creation bestowed in front of my eyes, there are plenty of beautiful creations and one of those are Vampires.

And yes he did play a vampire at some point but my love for the fanged peeps began a lot before then, I read Dracula by Bram Stocker when I was 11 and the Vampire Chronicles from Anne Rice followed quickly after, and so my love for the most alluring undead grew.

Anything vampire, anything Dracula, anything that mixed sensuality, death and blood was a Muse to follow and be seduced by, so it's not surprise that the first time my work got featured in a blog it had to be for Vampire Month.
Thanks to David Lascelles for giving me this platform to profess my undying love for the Prince of Darkness and showing it through my Art Work.

So Welcome to my cave people, I don't only paint Vampires but if you like them stick around, and if you don't... well, stick around, I don't only paint Vampires.