Having an affinity for nature and art, artist Pablo Piatti enjoys molding the two together while being creative. It’s an infantile curiosity that blossoms into an artistic display of maturity. A well-spoken gentleman and based in Antwerp, Belgium, he creates intelligence at the speed of colorful brushstrokes. It’s pure talent. And while waiting for spring to finally arrive and bring back many shades of green (his favorite color we will learn), Mr. Piatti took the time to answer some questions regarding the world through his eyes. | Giuseppe

 

FCJL | What was the moment that made you decide that you wanted to draw as a profession?

PP: Actually it came as a natural process, accepting that I had to do it, that somehow it was already decided. When I was a little boy, I already knew I wanted to do this. It was the only thing that mattered to me and that made me happy.

FCJL | What’s your favorite media for drawing?

PP: I really like to work with water based media. Watercolor, gouache, acrylics, ink. It’s very challenging, but I like the risk of not being able to control all the effects.

FCJL | What is your favorite color? Why?

PP: I would say that green is my favorite color. Because it’s the color of nature, trees, plants. It’s very calming and soothing to look at a green landscape.

         Valentino Rosette Pouch & Ocelot

 

FCJL | If you could have anyone as a live model, whose portrait would you paint?

PP: I am not very much of a portrait painter, but I guess I would love to have a posing session with Oscar Wilde, especially if we had conversation while I’m making his portrait.

FCJL | What is one city that you’ve visited that has inspired you the most? What inspired you?

PP: Cities are less inspiring to me than nature, but if I have to name a city it would be Bangkok. There are many things that inspire me from a city: the lights, its inhabitants, the local markets, the parks, the food, smells…so many things really.

Marc Jacobs Leather Tote & Okapi

 

FCJL | If you could go back in time and choose an era to be a painter, which would you choose? What would you paint?

PP: I guess I would choose the XIV or XV century in some monastery in Europe. I would be making a catalogue of the plants and insects around me.

FCJL | Where do you find inspiration?

PP: Inspiration can  be found in everything you see- there are no such things as small worlds, there are only small eyes… For those who can open their eyes and observe, there is plenty of inspiration around, and if not, just look inside!

FCJL | If you could have a coffee & conversation with someone who inspires you professionally, alive or deceased, who would you choose? What would you tell them?

PP: You would be surprised but I would choose to spend an afternoon with Joris Hoefnagel, a Flemish miniaturist born in 1542 in Antwerp. I would listen to him rather than tell him my story.

 

Gucci Clutch & Burmese Python 

 

FCJL | Is painting|illustrating a dying art? What are your thoughts on contemporary art?

PP: I don’t think such a thing is possible; there will always be a public for it. Contemporary art is difficult to define and that’s why I think that more than ever we need knowledgeable people who can tell the difference and establish the limits between what is art and what is not art. Art has become the investment grounds of the nouveaux riche and many people buy art out of pure speculation. Art has lost its magical power and mystical dimension.

Dries Van Noten Tote & Crested Fireback Pheasants

 

FCJL | What are some of your favorite pieces of artwork?

PP: This is a tough question because I love so many artworks. Also the different disciplines are intertwined so for instance, I can create a mental image of a painting by Klimt and hear Mahler’s music at the same time.

The list would be very long, but if I leave out books and music:

The early insect illustrations by Maria Sibylla Merian are like jewels to me.

Drawings and etchings by Albrecht Dürer.

The portrait of the merchant Georg Gisze by Hans Holbein.

Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez.

Le Radeau de La Méduse by Géricault.

Any of the garden paintings by Pierre Bonnard.

Ivan Shishkin’s painting In the Wild North.

Vasily Polenov’s landscapes.

Landscapes by modern artists like Peter Doig I find very inspiring.

Portraits by Lucian Freud.

Any of Gerhard Richter’s abstract landscapes…

Christian Louboutin Mini Bag & Cassowary

 

FCJL | If you could paint a mural anywhere in the world, where would you do it and what would you paint?

PP: I would love to paint a huge mural of plants and birds inside the courtyard of a prison.

FCJL | Use 3 colors to describe your life.

PP: Green, blue, white.

FCJL | Happiness is:

 PP: Finding yourself.

                                                   

 

 

                                   Baroque Impressions Collection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

pictures courtesy Pablo Piatti