The Illustrator

I was born on August 4, 1972, in the quiet coastal city of Lazio, in Terracina, Italy, where I lived for a very short time because, as soon as it was possible, my mother took me on a plane to the Congo, where my father had been working for some time. 

I spent my childhood and adolescence in various West African countries, under the palm trees and in the shade of one of the world’s largest tropical forests. The magic of the savannah, the diversity of the people and their customs, the richness of local artists – woodworkers, sculptors and painters who exhibited in the small street markets – fueled my creative spirit. 

When I was very young, my father drew crazy adventures for me, which he improvised on the spot and made me laugh. His style was simple, even naive – drawn with just a black marker – and was as far as you can get from realistic. I loved his style and immediately wanted to do just like him. 

I first learned how to draw on my own, copying everything that passed before my eyes, then creating my own works – inspired by artists such as Pratt, Buscema, Frazzetta and Moebius, as well as the authors of the Franco-Belgian comics and of course the Disney classics. Add to that the strong influence of 80’s sci-fi movies, a fatal attraction for Japanese giant robot cartoons … you get an idea of the cultural soup I’ve been swimming in for years! 

I almost forgot to mention the collection of stickers that a school friend lent me when I was seven: a series of illustrations that told the story of aviation. The colors, dynamism and beauty of the aircraft thrilled me; I discovered a passion for illustrations of aircraft from the First and Second World Wars.

I did all my schooling in Africa until I was 18, then returned to Italy to enroll in university, in the faculty of economics. I quickly realized these studies didn’t suit me. After completing my military service and without any clear idea about my future, I listened to my heart and asked myself: Why not transform my passion into a profession? 

In Rome, I found an art institute that trained illustrators. Three years of happiness and discovery followed, full of friendships, challenges, successes and sometimes disappointments. It was during this period that I met Amedeo Gigli, professor of digital illustration … and creator of the stickers I had collected when I was seven years old! 

We became fast friends. Amedeo took me under his wing and I became his after-school assistant. What I learned from him cannot be taught at school: rigor, questioning, stubbornness, a spirit of sacrifice. 

Opportunities to work as a professional illustrator, however, proved few and far between. That – combined with the rise of PC-based graphic design and, most of all, love – led me to quit my homeland for Belgium. I quickly found my first job at a communications agency in neighboring Luxembourg, where I was able to demonstrate my skills as an illustrator and 3D designer. I set aside the dream of working as an illustrator and continued with my career, first at a printing company and then in the communications department of a bank. 

Today, with more than 20 years of experience as a graphic and web designer, I am seizing this moment to follow a dream that was long deferred. Today, I am an illustrator, who draws, creates and invents.

I draw inspiration from everything, including my own experience and all the people around me. Like my father in his time, I have forged my own imaginary world, populated with animals – sometimes mischievous, sometimes naïve – that live out the most improbable adventures. 

In my world, there are no villains. Instead, there are situations that are resolved thanks to the strength of friendship and even love. I give life to my characters with pencil, and then color them with acrylic paints and gouache; bright and strong colors like the ones that thrilled me when I was a child in Africa. 

My imaginary animals are blessed with happiness – the sentiment that informs their very being and which they share with you, sparking your imagination and making you smile. An unconscious acknowledgement of this small but precious gift.