I began my career drawing comics and creating illustrations with the brushes and airbrush.


1. Let's begin with telling a little about yourself.

I live in Roma, Italy, where I'm working as freelance illustrator since 1981, mostly in the advertising market. I worked also in multimedia and web animation industry. To show those works I created my first website www.visualshop.it, it is not updated since 2001 when I started to paint PinUp and Fantasy art showed at my new website www.lorenzodimauro.com
 
2. How do you go about creating your pieces; what is your general creative formula?

Normally, I start from an image in my mind and I try to secure it on a rough pencil sketch. Sometimes the image is almost the same as it will be on the finished artwork, sometimes there are changes in progress.
I look for photo references being realistic my painting style but I like to give space to any new inspiration could improve the image. Anyway I don't like to just reproduce the image reference. When someone ask me if my artworks are photo manipulations, I suggest him to see my hand made paint rendering looking at close-ups at my website.


3. Whom and/or what do you find inspiration from?

A picture movie, as well as a magazine, a music, a book and so on. Painting PinUps my work is based on the images of wonderful models I'm in touch with. Again I don't like to merely reproduce their images, even if beautiful. I use the image references to get their beauty in dreamy girls with realistic rendering: They does not really exist, but looks so real.

4. On the subject of your artistic style, who influenced you to start and who influences you today?

I was always inspired by the masters of the Italian Renaissance and by those of the world Illustration as Norman Rockwell, Frank Frazetta, Boris Vallejo, The Hildebrants and Hajime Sorayama.

5. Besides creating this beautifal art, have you any other Interests/hobbies ?

I love live music, books, movies. I love very much nature, camping, trekking and above all skiing.

6. What are your tools/programs of choice?

Mainly Photoshop and Painter, I use very old versions of them I'm very used with. I like also vectorial tool like Freehand. Some time I try to get some reference I have not using Poser but I'm not experienced in 3D, just to get some help for the painting work

7. What tips could you give to aspiring artists, traditional and digital alike?

Work hard to improve yourself!
Follow your fantasy.
Use photo references if you are working on a realistic image

8. What websites do you frequently visit?

Of course addictivehobby :-) and also some other I visit for work reasons... I don't surf so much on the web, often I have no time to do it. But these days it's not possible not using internet and I too am very often there searching for something in the web.

9. What are your plans for the future?

Improve myself working and trying to get also some fun, hoping that my work may be again appreciated.

10. Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions Lorenzo, we wish you nothing but success in your future.

Thank you very much,