EN
ITAbout me
My name is Giulia Clerici, I am an illustrator. I love painting colorful food, starry skies and wonderful adventures, and when I do it I always try and tell a unique story, made of memories, feelings and emotions, with an open heart to the world around us.
Why do I paint with watercolors? We are living in a society where visual communication is mostly standardized and often based on digital techniques - there’s little room for the slowness and imperfection of painting. But uniqueness often arises from imperfections, and it needs slowness if it wishes to grow. I can never get tired of the feeling of freedom and intensity that water and color spreading on paper give me!
Illustrating is part of my "second working life". I hold a degree in electronic engineering, with a specialization in non-linear optics, and before following my dream I (happily) worked for twelve years in the energy sector, dealing with trading and portfolio management. So - yes, I'm super precise and fussy, and I do have a great passion for physics.
I could say that I am a self-taught painter, but this is not really true. I have loved creating things and painting since my early childhood, and I had the good fortune to have a mother who was an artist and a painter: she taught me many things. My grandfather was a sculptor, too, and though I never had the chance to meet him, I can still admire and study his wonderful works today.
I have always loved reading, and I can't imagine my world without books. I am a keen reader and I have been exploring different genres - but if there is one thing I can’t do without, that’s reading a few pages of a compelling story before falling asleep.
I believe in the importance of lightness, as Italo Calvino teaches us in "American Lessons":"Prendete la vita con leggerezza. Che leggerezza non è superficialità, ma planare sulle cose dall'alto, non avere macigni sul cuore. [...] La leggerezza per me si associa con la precisione e la determinazione, non con la vaghezza e l'abbandono al caso. Paul Valéry ha detto: Il faut être léger comme l'oiseau, et non comme la plume" (Take life lightly. Because lightness is not superficiality, but gliding over things from above, not having burdens on your heart. [...] To me, lightness matches with precision and determination, not with vagueness and indulgence to fate. Paul Valery said: you must be as light as the bird that flies, not as the feather that falls).
I believe in the value of kindness. Kindness does not stand for weakness and submission or lack of personality - kindness is strength, balance, serenity. Being kind is a choice, a hard choice! We are often fighting with a violent, arrogant, prevaricating instinct - it is our kindness to others that can bring us back to respect and civilization. Kindness is made up of small gestures - which can be very powerful, though.
