CHIARA PERANO

“Having grown up between England and Italy, my style and colour palette is inspired by childhood memories of slow southern Italy, La Dolce Vita, folklore magic and ancient pottery designs.”

When I paint flowers I’m either studying from still life or photographs and then I just go with the flow. For these specific pieces I picked some foliage from my garden so in season, and some that were in my house already in vases and also referenced some vintage botanical images. I sketch the flowers and leaves on scrap paper to get a feel for the shapes, and decide on the overall composition, because of the text on the newspaper this has to be considered. I wanted the flowers to be bold yet delicate so they sit together in harmony with the background. I applied thin washes of colour, and there is no going back once the paint is applied in this manner, so I create quite a few to end up with one I am happy with, I have to be confident my mark makings, perfectly imperfect, I like it to feel effortless. .

I have stacks of old books, on everything from plant medicine to almanacs, which inspire my nature themed work, plus poetry books which can set a dreamy feel. I also try and get out in nature, living by the sea helps, I’m always finding things on the beach. And noting the patterns, textures to shapes and materials that I log in a sketchbook for future works. I also find real inspiration in older artists, from the incredible details in pieces by Botticelli, to the loose and flowing feel of Jean Cocteau and mark making of Matisse.

Chiara Perano is an English-Italian artist, illustrator, and ceramicist, based in East Sussex. She studied Illustration at University of the Arts London, and has exhibited in London and Sussex.