By Mike McCarthy
Artist and actress Elisabetta Fantone can be seen on tv, movie screens and now in many art galleries across North America and now over in Europe. Elisabetta is showing some of her incredible pieces of artwork in London, England right now and then moving on to another art show in Greece. You have seen Elisabetta on shows like Blue Mountain State and The Glades, and the Oscar winning film Big Eyes. Check out Elisabetta’s amazing paint work at her website: http://www.elisabettafantoneart.com
Wingman Magazine: Artist, actress, model, singer: Obviously the arts are engraved in your soul. What drives you to pick one of the arts over the others?
Elisabetta Fantone: It all depends. Being an artist, your schedule is really flexible. I really go with whatever project is going on. I just finished filming a Canadian Christmas film a few weeks back. When I finish filming I come home and jump right into my art. I have a show coming up in Greece and the promotion of that as well. It’s really a matter of managing your schedule and having the ability to say no to some things. I always seem to say yes to everything because I am always eager to start a new project. But I have to tell myself, “okay, I have this film and when that is finished I have to dedicate a month to new works, and then I have this project.” It’s just a question of balancing it out and management. It’s not a constant thing, I’m not a regular on a TV series or anything so every project has a certain time, like a month or a month and a half and it’s done.
Wingman Magazine: Your show “Going Pop” opened in London on March 30th. Your art is absolutely stunning. Tell us about the show and how excited the viewers should be to see your work.
Elisabetta Fantone: I am starting my work relationship with this gallery. I have never showed my work in London before, so this will be my first time. They are interesting my works along with some other artists. I am showcasing my paintings of David Bowie, Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix and Marilyn Monroe. It’s a pop art show, and mine will be the first portraits that the gallery will feature. I think my art will do really well in London, I just think it totally fits. The past year I have been focusing a lot on America and the States, but this year I wanted to concentrate on bringing my works to Europe.
Wingman Magazine: How did you get started in painting? You were definitely made for it, no matter how it happened.
Elisabetta Fantone: I’ve always really loved art since I was a kid. I didn’t have a hard time focusing in school or anything but like every creative person I was always daydreaming or scribbling. When it came to art I was always there and would always get really excited about it. I studied creative art in college and I know it came naturally to me. It was something that I knew I needed to do, kind of like breathing or eat. I feel at peace when I am creating and it’s what I am supposed to do. The art I am doing now is all self-taught and it’s all about practicing,trying and researching. Every year I try and perfect what I do and bring it to the next level. I don’t believe in repeating things over and over again.
Wingman Magazine: You paint pop icons ( Bowie, Marilyn, James Dean) What makes you pick one of them over a newer generational icon?
Elisabetta Fantone: I am really attracted to the past. There is something about past artists ( actors, singers) that is immortal about that time and something very classic about them and their work, especially in music. There are artists that I like from this generation, but the artists from the 50’s and 60’s had way more soul. I always paint people that I actually admire their work, their story and how it affected our culture. It’s really hard to pick someone from nowadays. I really want to paint Michael Jackson, Madonna and others. I am not really attracted to painting Miley Cyrus or anything. Unless they commissioned me to paint something then I will consider it. I want to create pieces that people can have in their home and after a few years not want to discard it. I am not gonna paint a Kim Kardashian, but I have. When I first moved to the states from Montreal I was commissioned to paint the Kardashian sisters but it’s not something I would do for me or a collection.
Wingman Magazine: Having been on numerous shows and some big films like Big Eyes… how do you keep yourself centered and concentrate on acting with all of your other work going on?
Elisabetta Fantone: As soon as I am done with one thing I just settle down and focus. Moving from painting to acting I look at the part that I am playing and I get ready for it and need to snap out of it and into the character. I really take one thing at a time and completely move on. It’s a question of knowing the character I am playing, learn my lines and get ready to play the character. I love acting, it’s one of my greatest passions and I enjoy being there.
Wingman Magazine: New or old…what is your favorite piece that you have done? And why that specific one over all the rest?
Elisabetta Fantone: I like each one of them because I have spent so much time creating them. I like them all, but I am quite proud of the recent David Bowie one that I did. I loved the David Bowie because he was such an inspiration for the music, art and fashion world. I had an idea in my head of what I wanted to do and based on that I really thought I nailed that with the painting that I did. I want to create more David Bowie portraits because he had so many different looks and his different personas so there is a lot of different ways to paint him.