Federico Gemma SWLA
Artworks
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Statement
Nature is Federico's main source of inspiration. And he can fully enjoy it only when he draws and paint what he sees. Federico likes to portray the instant when he catches sight of something. Not a detailed description but the colours and the lights of that instant, the fleeting sighting, the feeling of a landscape, the sculptural quality of a flock.
Methodology
Federico's favourite subjects are birds and mammals but also landscapes, trees and old rural homes. He mostly uses watercolour, a technique which he loves for the brightness and transparency of the colour. Its capacity for rapid execution makes it also ideal to the use on the field. However, the pencil is his inseparable friend: either grease, soft, hard or sharp it allows me to draw lines, shapes and volumes anywhere. It is through the pencil that he can express what he sees through my eyes. Whenever Federico can, he takes notes on the field always carrying with me a sketchbook, a pencil and watercolours. He believes life drawing is a fundamental process and an irreplaceable tool to observe and fix on the paper instants and ideas. Some of these sketches then become watercolours and finished paintings, others stay as they are, enduring memory of travels and sightings.
Bio
Since childhood, Federico has always been attracted by animals, especially wild animals, and has always tried to portray them from the first time he held a pencil in his hands. His passion for nature induced him to get a degree in Biological Sciences in Rome, to become a zoologist. Yet, even before concluding his studies, he employed most of his time drawing naturalist illustrations. Nevertheless his interests still include biological sciences since he works for parks and nature reserves, museums and nature conservation bodies making drawings and illustrations for calendars, panels, thematic areas, books, brochures and magazines. Not only an illustrator but also a painter, he spends his free time travelling Italy, Europe, and the world looking for subjects, animals and landscapes, to portray. He is a self-taught artist and regularly holds drawing and watercolour classes. 1970 - Born in Rome, Italy 1970 1997 - Graduated in Biological Sciences, Rome University. 2009 - Elected Associated Member of the Society of Wildlife Artists. 2012 - Elected Full Member of the Society of Wildlife Artists