Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Valeria Pesce. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Valeria, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
Living off art is not easy and never has been. I often feel like a tightrope walker, finding a precarious balance between difficulties of life, but, on the other hand, art gives me the freedom to organize my life as I prefer. Today, many digital tools enable us connect to a huge potential market, but for artists who were born before the digital age, like me, the challenge is double: learning to use these tools and then continuously adapting to changes and updates. I find it very important to be aware that art is not a basic necessity, but rather like selling dreams, something that is directly connected to everyone’s sensitivity. Consistency and daily commitment are very important, not only for our creative work, but especially for marketing and selling our own work. Being my own boss, unfortunately, also means that instead of devoting all the time to creating, I need to spend a huge amount of time with online marketing and socials, in order to sell and keep a presence in the art world.
My life and my work are closely linked, and I am lucky enough to work from home where I have created a space to paint, even though my art often takes over the rest of the house, like when I take pictures of the artworks or carefully package them before shipping.
Valeria, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a self-taught painter, but I’ve not been an artist all my life…. Though I have always felt creative, painting has become an urgent need since I decided to become an artist. Nature is my never-ending source of inspiration. I also love the human figure, and in my work, I try to explore the relationship between humans and nature, and the boundaries between dream and reality. I am attracted by anything that breathes, palpitates or moves and is worth to be painted, I paint water as an eternal and transforming element, Water is movement, light, weightlessness. It is the domain of fish, but also other animals and people. Fish represent the flow of life and emotions. Goldfish or koi fish, in particular, as they are such elegant and peaceful animals, also much appreciated in Japan. I have also painted Sumo wrestlers, their huge bodies entangled in absurd and dynamic poses, enhancing the beauty I see in life.
Renaissance portraits by Italian Masters are another important source of inspiration, which I re-elaborate in a contemporary perspective.
My approach to art is very instinctive: painting is my way of expressing feelings toward our surroundings, and put them into colours.
Art has the power to bring some light, passion or focus on life itself.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
When I am painting, I really get in touch with my inner self; it is like a form of meditation and therapy. Also, the feedback I receive from people during exhibitions, the way they appreciate my work, is incredibly rewarding. The magic that is created when someone falls in love with one of my paintings reinforces my belief that art can really connect people’s souls. This is even more stunning when people who live thousands of kilometres away, who don’t know me at all, take the risk to buy my work online, just taking the decision from a picture. I have shipped paintings almost everywhere in the world and I truly love the feeling of having little pieces of me spread all over. As Pablo Picasso said… “Art shakes from the soul the dust accumulated in everyday life.”
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
For my generation, being an artist was not considered a real option. In this sense, my family was conservative; I was expected to follow my parent’s path… not my passion or my talent. I decided to study graphic design, which was a creative yet safe option! So I worked as a graphic designer, employed in graphic studios first, and then on my own. Moving from Italy to Barcelona in the early 90’s was a pivotal point in my career… I met some artist friends and the true desire that was inside me since I was a child started taking form. I had a few classes with a painter, and then I started painting in my spare time, when I was not working as a graphic designer. After few years of practice, I began exhibiting my art and the positive feedback I received made me think it may be possible to live off painting. Still, I had to keep all options open if I wanted to earn enough, so I kept devoting time to both and feeling a growing frustration at not being able to use all my energy for painting – a time-consuming activity. Meanwhile, technology kept disrupting the graphic design industry and many of my clients started disappearing. When my main client sold all his businesses, my world suddenly fell apart. I found myself thinking about taking the big leap into art, and so I began painting full time…. and here I am. I now think that hitting that scary point was a blessing in disguise, even though being an artist is not a path of roses..
Contact Info:
- Website: www.valeriapesce.com
- Instagram: valepescemur
- Facebook: Valeria Pesce Murroni, Artist
- Other: https://www.saatchiart.com/valeriapesce https://www.singulart.com/es/artista/valeria-pesce-1188?previewToken=xIEUHQWfrL6shyjwhUK9BMzARBVfdaizR9l9EF-sMQQ%3D.eyJpZCI6MTE4OH0%3D