Another illustration done for 'The Realms of Fantasy' magazine.

Enjoy!

 

'Fata Turchina':

The first of two different illustrations I did for an article written by the wonderful Terri Windling, for The Realms of Fantasy magazine.  This one is a portrait of the popular Fata Turchina, from "Pinocchio" fairy tale. I painted her as The Maiden with Turquoise Hair ('Bambina dai Capelli Turchini', in Italian), a spirit of the forest, looked as a young girl, who rescues Pinocchio and adopts him as her brother in their first meeting.
The second illustration is based on the the nymph Anguana, a sort of freshwater mermaid.
It's not very easy to find online writings in English about Italian fairies and folklore, but here a link to a interesting essay » link.
Italian fairies are quite different from the ones of the Celtic and Northern Europe tradition but we have a rich variety of folktales and myths about them, and a multitude of fairies too ^_^

Hi everyone!

I'm new here so, I think I should tell you something about me...

My name is Natalia Pierandrei, better known as 'nati', and I am a traditional illustrator based in Italy where I have lived for most of my life. Starting at my earliest memories, I have always had a passion for art. The idea of taking a blank piece of paper and knowing that anything is possible, has made my work a collage of styles and influences: Art Nouveau, European graphic novels, gothic and classical fantasy themes and a strong influence from Japanese anime and manga. As a matter of fact during the college years I spent almost two years of my life in Tokyo and that's the reason she loves anything related to Japan and its culture. I have had no formal training except for art classes in elementary and middle schools. As a mainly self-taught artist, I think that practise is the best key to improvement and refinement. Observing how things look, how light falls on them, what shapes and forms they take, and then practicing drawing all of that has always been the best school.
I work part time as commissioned artist from late 2002 when I began accepting freelance art assignments, and when I have started posting her artwork to online art communities and running my personal website nati-art.com. I use predominately markers with a painting style that often utilizes mixed techniques like watercolor, coloured pencils and soft pastels.
My art has appeared in various art books, the most notable being "The Art of Faery" and "The World of Faery" by Paper Tiger. Her most recent project is "Precious Things", a book completely dedicated to my artwork which will be released in France in early 2008 by "Le Calepin Jaune Editions".