How do you paint an animal when the only reference is a memory from forty years earlier? Carmelo’s commission began without photographs, videos or images to compare. There were his words and a memory that had remained vivid over time.
Carmelo had owned 120 parrots. Of them all, the first held a special place: a blue parrot given to him by his grandfather in the 1980s. He wanted to dedicate an artwork to it for his new home near Noto.
A memory to listen to closely
Without a visual reference, every question helps build the subject. We discussed the blue of the feathers, the shape of the beak, the posture and expression. Carmelo’s descriptions gave the drawing a direction.
The first sketches brought further details back to the surface. The discussion continued through observations and revisions until we found a figure in which he could recognise the animal he remembered.
From words to feathers
The painting developed the character of the blue and the structure of the feathers. Much of the subject’s recognisability lies in the details of the face, beak and eyes.
The corrections played a practical role: the design came closer to the memory through the details Carmelo could clarify while looking at a visible proposal.
Why there came to be two parrots
During the design process, it emerged that a relationship was at the heart of the artwork. We therefore included a second parrot: a symbolic representation of Carmelo beside the animal he had loved.
The composition connects the two figures. The artwork thus tells of their bond and its meaning, beyond the appearance of the first blue parrot.
Considering the artwork in the home
The painting is intended for a wall in the villa near Noto. The previews in the setting help show the presence of the two figures, the scale of the artwork and its dialogue with the space.
A personal subject can become part of an everyday setting when the story and painting design are developed together.
A bond to give form to
This commission shows that it is also possible to start with what can be told in words. Discussion makes a memory visible, and painting gives it a presence to rediscover every day.
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