I’m a whirlwind, that’s what I am: impetuous, bubbly, full of energy and irreverent at times. I’m vivacious; challenges excite me and bring me to life. When my inbred determination comes to the fore I push myself to my limit. I’m curious, I love change and the new opportunities it brings. I’m instinctive, sometimes impulsive. It’s hard for me not to show my emotions so it’s easy to understand what I’m thinking: I’m an open book. Travelling, reading and being in the company of the people I love are my main interests, they fill my life, filling gaps in my knowledge. Living and growing with Gabriel, my son, teaches me how simple it is to be happy. It may seem strange but I truly believe that it is he who takes my hand and leads me, reminding me that life means being taken by surprise, marvelling at small things. I’m a bit of a nomad, my suitcase is always packed, ready to rediscover, on my journeys, the part of me I have forgotten and which represents a piece of the jigsaw that is my life. I’m romantic, in love with Love, and step by step I’m learning that loving yourself is the only way to fill the vacuum of the soul. My passion is painting; a world of my own… in front of a canvas, my brush and colours, time and space vanish. It’s as if I were confronting myself, my joys and fears, free to express my emotions without restraint… Free to be Terry: a whirlwind. Notes about the artist. I was born on 20 May 1974 in Desenzano del Garda, a charming town on Lake Garda. I have lived most of my life in the hills of Franciacorta, a magical place which inspires introspection, silence and emotions, where I cultivate self-knowledge and work as an insurance broker. But it is in Milan, the city of opportunities, that I re-discovered my love for art and drawing … where my pencil took form and my paintbrush began to colour. And I live like a nomad, my suitcase is always packed and ready: split between the peace and quiet of the countryside around Brescia and the exhilarating pace of a multi-faceted city .
A day arrives when you hear words that dash all your hopes: “it’s serious, let’s wait and see if she survives the next 24 hours”. You wonder if you really heard that, if they’re talking about you. And you’re paralysed by fear but, quite strangely, you’re not afraid of dying. You’re afraid that you haven’t lived, that you haven’t left a mark, something good, something inspiring. You feel angry about having rested on your laurels, about not having developed your potential and value to the full. For not having lived your life, not having loved yourself enough to put yourself first. And then silence. Over the following hours you cling on to a small hope, to the strength you didn’t know you had and you earn yourself a second chance. I got that chance and I’m still here. 15 years have passed since that moment when I began to live my life. To get to know myself, to nourish my passion. I awoke and decided to take what I wanted. It hasn’t been an easy journey: experiences, setbacks and new steps forward; this is the cycle that has continued to repeat itself. I have learnt from Buddhism, my faith, that the lotus flower is born in sludge. Such a splendid thing born in mud and sludge; that’s like me, from suffering and dissatisfaction I began to reach up towards the light. Painting transports my emotions onto the canvass, it makes my life shine. So through the eyes of my paintings I give life to sensations and feelings. I personify my essence to connect with the world outside my soul.
15 square metres of colour and confusion. Where easels, brushes and canvasses fill every nook and cranny. A world that may seem small but which knows no limits to the imagination, creativity … expression. A space devoted to my essence, the birth of new projects, somewhere I can go and rediscover my mission, my desire to communicate to the world through my works. In the silence I find my soul, I manage to bring to the surface my emotions, give life to my canvasses, transform what saddens or upsets me into something strong and concrete, colourful and beautiful. Painting helps me do this, illuminate and find beauty even in the darkest hours.