The Full Story
Emiliano Marini was born in Terni, Italy, in 1983. He began studying life painting in
2013 with the painter Marco De Sio. From 2015 he continued to refine his technique
solo, studying the works of painters such as Velazquez, Rembrandt, John Singer
Sargent and Antonio Mancini. His main focus over the past few years has been en
plein air painting and alla prima portraiture.
In 2020 Emiliano was selected by Workshops in France as the only winner of a
scholarship to consolidate his knowledge in oil painting, studying with American
artists Susan Lyon and Scott Burdick. He also attended the “Americans in Paris”
workshop, painting alongside Casey Childs, Olga Krimon, Michelle Dunaway, Aldo
Balding and Vanessa Rothe.
In 2022 he won a scholarship to study with the Russian artist Leonid Ilyukhin at the
Vivarium Novum Academy in Frascati, where he studied drawing and painting
classical subjects from life.
In 2023 Emiliano returned to France to study urban and natural landscapes en plein
air with the renowned watercolorist Joseph Zbukvic. He also worked on dynamic
figures with the Chinese painter Lisa Wang.
Emiliano was awarded second place in the Sulle vie del Grand Tour watercolor
contest sponsored by the International Watercolor Academy and Vivarium Novum
Academy.
In 2023 he attended a workshop in Scotland with the American painter Daniel
Gerhartz.
In 2024 he went to France to study alla prima Portrait and Figure with David Shevlino
and Still Life in Oil with Sarah Sedwick.
He has exhibited in various collective and personal exhibitions in various parts of
Italy. His paintings can be found in private collections in Italy and abroad.
Emiliano currently teaches oil and watercolor painting at the Cagliari Academy of Art
and Artemisia. He regularly holds workshops in Cagliari and other Italian cities.
He is a member of the Portrait Society of America.
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Artist Statement:
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Painting is an ongoing journey of discovery. Each day, by studying painting from life, you gain something new, however small. For me, this is a source of endless wonder; it keeps my curiosity alive and constantly renews the way I see the world. Over time, this way of looking - in shapes, colors and tonal values - begins to feel like magic.
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After all, that's the essence of painting: to create the illusion of what we see and invite the viewer to step inside and imagine their own story.
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I began painting en plein air over ten years ago. One of the first challenges I encountered was the difficult of simplifying the complex scenes in front of me. At first, I wanted to capture too much. But with the guidance of a mentor who taught me how to truly observe, and with consistent practice, I began to focus less and less on the details before me and view the world abstractly. As painters, we must learn to see the large shapes of light and shadow that define a landscape, rather than get lost in its intricacies.
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When painting outdoors, nothing stays still. The light changes, the shadows shift and the environment constantly evolves. Unlike the controlled calm of the studio, plein air painting demands flexibility and presence. It places the artist in a direct dialogue with nature, which requires quick decisions and deep sensitivity.
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In embracing the unpredictable, we may not capture every detail of the scene in front of us, but we do capture something else: the impression of a fleeting moment. This I believe, is what makes en plein air painting so special.
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