Bella Comaschi
"I was born and raised in Kemp Town. My love for art and living by the sea encouraged me to go on to study Illustration at Brighton University. Before university I adored drawing and would look forward to every art class at school, I thrived being creative and using my brain in an artistic way.
For my final degree show at the Oxo Tower, London, I exhibited a large scale painting of a woman emerging from a dramatic mountain landscape range, accentuating freedom and beauty of nature. This was also exhibited at the Tate Modern Herzog & de Meuron's extension opening night 2016.
I’ve always had the ocean and the human figure as a core inspiration. The essence of being human and the appreciation of the human body. My work reflects mankind emotions and often that of a woman. Creativity is a human quality that exists in all of us and in the act of creation I feel meaningful.
I have travelled extensively in Japan, Australia and New Zealand which instilled excitement, enchantment and enrichment with new ideas and inspiration. I learnt a considerable amount about colour and pattern when working with a textile company in Sydney. I subsequently launched my own beachwear collection of chiffon sarongs. This is when I started using watercolour again, my style shifted from detailed pencil and fine-liner work to minimal, serendipitous mark making.
My commissioned work has been diverse. I recently worked for a contemporary dance collective to artistically capture the movement of the dancers and to design their branding. I have designed an array of book and album artwork as well as working with a Japanese surf brand to design surf board artwork and clothing. One of my favourite commissions was working with a Pilates studio on a selection of Joseph Pilates poses that I developed into vinyl stickers to renovate the studio space.