Camilla D’Errico Takes 1x Beyond The Rainbow

We are excited to welcome in artist Camilla D’Errico to 1xRUN! For her debut RUN, the Canadian artist has brought us Beyond The Rainbow, her latest painting which was just recently finished a few weeks ago for her upcoming show at Cotton Candy Factory which opens October 12th, 2012. We recently caught up with Camilla and she gave us the skinny on her latest painting along with a slew of process photos, read on below to see the piece come together as we catch up with Camilla D’Errico in the 1xRUN Thru Interview…

Camilla D’Errico

1xRUN Thru Interview
Beyond The Rainbow by Camilla D’Errico

1xRUN: Tell us a little bit about the original painting, what materials was it created with? Is it still for sale?
Camilla D’Errico:  I painted this piece on an 11”x14” wood panel using a combination of Holbein Water Soluble oils and Golden Acrylics. I don’t prime my wood because I want the wood to absorb the paint and show the wood grain through the layers. This piece was many thin layers of the oils, I use a thinner to achieve the transparency. The rainbow spill is done with acrylics mostly, it was important to create a thick look with the acrylics, the oils blend too much to achieve the desired look I wanted.

Yes, the piece is available from Cotton Candy Factory when the show opens October 12th. You can contact the gallery directly before the show, or come to the opening in Brooklyn. The original piece is 11”x14” and framed in an ornate wood frame. The list price is $2,200 at The Cotton Candy Machine gallery. Sales inquiries can go to [email protected].

1xRUN: Can you tell us how the idea and the execution for this piece came about?
Camilla D’Errico: It came to me at a time when I was feeling a lot of pressure, emotionally and creatively, ironically this piece is an expression of how creatively drained a person can feel. Her eyes are hidden because the true emotion is expressed through her hands and body language, it is a feeling of sadness, grace, and shock. The rainbow represents the girl’s soul, it is literally spilling out of her because where her heart was is an emptiness, there is nothing to keep her together anymore. I’m sure we’ve all felt at one point in our lives as if our hearts have been torn away, and the pain of its loss is unbearable. I was able to capture this feeling by showing the fragility of the girl through the literal spilling out of her soul and gentleness.

1xRUN: How long did this piece take?
Camilla D’Errico:This piece was created in a week. The concept came to me over the course of  a month, but the actual execution of the painting was done in a week.

1xRUN: What is unique about this piece?
Camilla D’Errico: This piece is very unique for me. This piece is a new expression in my career. The girl and her subject matter are literally a first of their kind. The beginning of a new sense of design and creative freedom. Ever artist has to grow and evolve, some do it slowly and with purpose. My new direction comes from a volcanic eruption of creative expressionism. Breaking out of role that I cast myself in is a remarkable feeling and I am very excited for the new piece and what she represents.

1xRUN: Why should people buy this print?
Camilla D’Errico: She is the first of her kind. A girl with neither bright and emotionally captivating eyes, nor any symbolic elements on her head. This girl is stripped of all the things that give away her personality. She is not a puzzle for the viewer to decipher, she is more naked in her meaning then any other that came before her.

1xRUN: Describe the piece in one gut reaction word for us.
Camilla D’Errico: Drainage.1xRUN: When did you first start making art? What was your first piece?
Camilla D’Errico: When I was a child I learned about art through my mother. I’ve been creating art ever since I could hold a crayon.  My first painting that I created for a gallery show was a very playful and charming girl wearing a helmet and winking at the viewer. I named her “the winking girl”, I’ve always enjoyed titles that stated the obvious, it makes the viewer create a story rather than me guide them into a narrative with the title.

1xRUN: What artists inspired you early on? What artists inspire you now?
Camilla D’Errico: My early inspirations were Ashley Wood, Audrey Kawasaki, Range Murata and Camille Garcia Rose. Many artists inspire me, the artists that inspired me before still inspire me today. There are a few that I sprang up in my time as a painter, Jeff Simpson, Redjuice, James Jean, Terada Katsuya and a whole bunch more. My art however is not inspired by other artists, but from the nature of this world and the complicated mysteries of the heart and mind.

Ashley Wood

Jeff Simpson

1xRUN: Do you listen to music while you work? If so what? If not then what is your environment like when you work?
Camilla D’Errico: I do listen to music while I work, though what I am most fond of is listening to audiobooks while I work! Its an incredible experience to have someone narrate a story while you paint, the moods of those narratives seeps into my work. I listen to fiction and comedies, I just can’t get enough of love stories, I’m a die-hard romantic…and obsessive vampire lover. I was listening to music however when I created this piece, mostly Massive Attack, Adele, Florence and the Machine and Gotye. My playlists are varied though, I don’t really listen to too much mainstream, but I will admit that the teenage girl in me loves some of Adam Lambert songs, epic love songs go with the die hard romantic territory.

1xRUN: If you could collaborate with any living artist who would it be and why?
Camilla D’Errico: I’ve had the chance to collaborate with some of my all time favourites already, I feel so spoiled! Dave Mack, Ben Templesmith and Molly Crabapple. If I could I’ve love to collaborate with either CLAMP, Travis Louie or Audrey Kawasaki, I would jump up and down if that happened.

1xRUN: If you could collaborate with any deceased artists who would it be and why?
Camilla D’Errico: My favourite of the masters was Raphael, his work was stunning, absolutely captivating, I would love to collaborate with him. I also think it would be lots of fun to create something with Salvador Dali!

Travis Louie

1xRUN: What was the first piece of art that you bought?
Camilla D’Errico: My first piece was from a local Vancouver artist, Peter Taylor and yes I still have his piece my my apartment!

1xRUN: What was the last piece of art that you bought?
Camilla D’Errico: A piece by Kukula and I adore it, this piece hangs up in my bedroom.

Peter Taylor

1xRUN: What else do you have currently in the works?
Camilla D’Errico: My upcoming show with Brandi Milne at the Cotton Candy Factory on October 12th.  This is the show that the original painting for this print is showing at. I’ve created a new series of paintings and drawings for this show that express what I’ve been experiencing emotionally and artistically. They’ll be up in Tara McPherson’s NY Gallery from Oct 12 to Nov 4. There are details in my blog, and more details are being published, but original artwork inquiries can go to the gallery reps at [email protected]

1xRUN: Where else can people find you?
Camilla D’Errico:  WebsiteFacebookTwitterDeviantArt

-1xRUN