MEET THE ARTIST: NUNZIO MIANO
As a child, Nunzio Miano loved drawing portraits of family members. He has fond memories of his grandmother and great uncle and aunt visiting from Sicily, when he would spend hours getting them to pose for him while he drew their portrait.
 
Nunzio now has a career as a retail creative director, which he absolutely adores, along with his “passion job” of creating art. “My two passions go hand in hand and feed each other. I get to use my brain and work with a bunch of talented people commercially, but I also need that alone time to express myself on canvas.”
 
When creating art, Nunzio usually works from his home. “I have the music pumping and have the time of my life. Depending on my mood, it’s either house music or old Sicilian love songs. It’s either a dance party or a meditative calm time in the studio.”
 
Nunzio draws on a range of sources for inspiration, from people, his thoughts, his childhood and his Sicilian heritage. “I love film, fashion, design, architecture, interiors and branding. I can’t get enough of it, and I guess that all goes into the big melting pot of inspiration.”
 
The creative process always changes for Nunzio, sometimes he plans paintings on paper, other times the plans are in his head. Sometimes he simply starts painting and it emerges. Nunzio mostly paints portraits, working predominantly with acrylic paint as it allows him the flexibility he needs in his painting techniques.
 
“I get a little deep and am always exploring emotional concepts. I’ve always been intrigued by humanity’s need to belong to tribes or cultures. The need to be loved and liked, to be popular and the need for approval. The faces depicted are quite emotional, portraying themes of despair, sorrow, desperation. While these themes can be quite dark, they are usually in bright, joyful colours. I love that contrast.”
 
See Forman’s range of Nunzio Miano works here.