50 artistDecember 2019 http://www.painters-online.co.uk
OIL
Developing
an idea
Michele Del Campo documents a recent narrative
composition from original concept to completion as
he works through the various stages of the painting
‘At the end, all passions are tragic, all
desires are cursed, because we always
obtain less than we dreamt’
Michele Del Campo
has a degree in i ne art from the
Universidad Complutense of Madrid and a
degree in illustration and printmaking from
the University of Dundee. He has exhibited
widely and won many art prizes.
Michele is exhibiting in a two-man show
at the CK Contemporary Gallery, 357
Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
until November 15. The exhibition will
coincide with the publication of his i rst
comprehensive book, which will show
and analyse his painting projects from 2006
to 2019. The book will be available from
http://micheledelcampo.com or email
[email protected]
for details.A
painting is the manifestation
of an idea or a feeling, and an
image can encapsulate the
essence of a whole experience
and can be a much stronger statement
than I could explain. However personal
and diffi cult to put down in words
- after all I am a visual artist and I
express myself much more comfortably
in images – I will try to share with you
the inspiration that was behind my
painting All Desires are Cursed, which is
demonstrated here.
The concept
I have an obsession with the concept of
‘daydreamers’ (I often see myself as one
of them), and the work here exemplifi es
this quite well. In this painting a girl is
completely immersed in her inner world
and blatantly oblivious to what happens
around her – so much so that she does
not bother about the ice cream she is
holding, which is melting and dripping
down her hand and arm.
The idea gained momentum as I was
recovering from the recent breakup
of a relationship of nearly three years
and was thinking about a painting
that could express what the process
feels like. I chose the ice cream, which
you would associate with the ideas of
indulgence, pleasure and relaxation,
in order to heighten by way of contrast
the melancholic mood of the girl – the
melted drops representing the passing
of time. To me, the ice cream is like
the useless temptation of ephemeral
pleasures or distractions that the girl
cannot fi nd enjoyment in when she is
dealing with her sorrow.The set up
I met the model, Natalia, at anexhibition in Madrid, where I
went to spend some time away
and paint in a new environment.
I immediately thought that she
would be great for the painting.
I imagined how the sun would
highlight her shiny blonde
hair and her very clear eyes,
and create beautiful bright
colours, so I asked her to pose and she
accepted.
We found a suitable gelateria in
Madrid, chose the fl avours based on
their colours and, in a temperature
of nearly 40 degrees, did the shoot
just outside the shop as the ice cream
would be melting very fast and we
could not be too fussy about fi nding the
ideal spot. I used selective lighting to
create a focus of attention towards her
face, and her eyes in particular. For that
reason I was careful to place her under
a tree where the light would be fi ltered
through the leaves and part of her body
would be left in the shadow. As for
the background, I knew already what I
wanted it to be. In fact, while I walked
towards my new studio in Madrid, I had
spotted a wonderful wall full of torn-
down posters, with different colours
and letters, I was so fascinated that I
needed to paint it (above left).Irène NémorovskyTA