Interview with Teresa Bellini

Since 2018, Teresa has attended painting classes in Padua. During the 2020 lockdown, she experienced an intense creative period that led her to consider painting as an essential part of her life. She participated in group exhibitions in Italy, Europe, and the United States, and she exhibited her artworks in two solo exhibitions in Italy. She is represented by an Agent in New York.

Discover more on www.teresabelliniart.it and @teresabellini_art on Instagram.

Teresa, what initially inspired you to pursue Eastern languages at Ca ‘Foscari University, and how has your experience in China influenced your artistic expression?

Discovery of new things was the reason why I chose that University. I was in need of new stimolouses for my life in general, and I always loved to travel as well. My experience in China, as well as other experiences traveling in other countries during my life, influenced my painting from a chromatic and stylistic point of view.

Can you describe the moment you realized that painting was an essential part of your life, especially during the 2020 lockdown?

I started painting only in 2018 when I was at a turning point in my personal life and was definitely looking for a way to express myself. When the 2020 lockdown arrived, I prepared a painting studio in a guest room of my house and there I experienced a real strong creative blow that brought me to paint my abstract art all day long. Since then, I became a full-time painter.

Your first solo exhibition in 2021 was a significant milestone. What was the theme or central message of this exhibition?

The title of the exhibition was Mood. I really meant Painting Mood. The main characteristic of the exhibition was a variety of colours and movements which people liked very much. This chromatic and movement variety represents different thoughts, emotions, or feelings that I’m expressing in my different artworks.

How do you balance the various aspects of your life, such as your work in the translation industry, raising children, and your artistic endeavors?

Now, I’m quite free since I quit working in the translation industry, and my children are grown up, so I can happily dedicate myself almost completely to painting.

Your art is described as featuring intense emotional landscapes. How do you approach the creation of these landscapes, and what do you hope viewers take away from them?

I usually (but not always) paint when I’m in a harmonious mood. This generally allows me to create artworks that impact positively on my viewers. My message is positive since I often successfully convert bad emotions or memories into positively affecting viewer artwork. During all my life, I was engaged in converting bad into good.

Can you discuss your choice of colours and textures in your abstract paintings? How much of it is planned versus instinctive?

My creative process is absolutely instinctive and fast.

As an artist who has been recognized with various awards, how do you feel these accolades have impacted your creative process? Do you find that they influence your artistic choices or inspire you to explore new directions in your work?

Actually, to be recognized is important if you plan to become a full-time painter since selling is also important. But I usually paint what I like and always also trying new techniques.

You’ve mentioned that painting for you is as natural as breathing. Can you elaborate on this connection between your art and your daily life?

Surely I must be connected and inspired for painting. This need causes me to have many creative downtimes during the day; then I always find different things to do, which I also like.

Having participated in a wide array of exhibitions over last years, how do you feel these experiences have shaped your artistic journey? Can you share any particular ways in which being part of these diverse showcases has influenced your style, themes, or approach to creating art?

I think that participating in different exhibitions is useful for making people know your work. But in general, I do not love to attend to vernissages and events too much. Maybe the main reason I do not like to is that I feel that words are not very necessary to explain my art, which should be felt in the gut and breast.

Looking forward, what are your aspirations for your art? Are there any new themes or techniques you are eager to explore?

My quite long and quite intense (in good and in bad) life will always remain my strongest source of inspiration, together with new experiences, music and water: I love to swim.