Artist Profile: Paul Louis Villani by community

I have a confession; I used to flick over Paul Louis Villani’s artwork mainly because he was already so popular.

Then he started posting his train and house series of photography and loved the whole series , then he started with the inspirations series and I couldn’t ignore it anymore, anyone who has a love of guitars and musicians like that has got to get my vote for All time Great Guy.

Paul’s work is as varied and it is stunning and original. But when he started posting his writings I had to send him a BubbleMail asking if he could tell me in advance when he was putting them up so I wouldn’t, because he kept stealing all the readers.

Paul has the knack of writing poetry that draws people too him, he shares his pain and wonder with his reader and they respond in kind. His recent offerings IMMERSE AND SURRENDER and Surgery Of A Soul are two of the most read poems on the Bubble. I asked Paul to expose himself even more for the Red Bubble audience and also to let everyone know of some of his marvelous achievements. Like a true artist laid his soul bare and had a lot to share.

What attracted you to Red Bubble?

After being part of a few group and solo exhibitions you tend to search for alternate ways that get your work “out there” and also up “for sale”. A gallery employee had asked me to check out Red Bubble exactly for those two reasons, the rest is history! The initial attraction to the sight has been quickly overwhelmed by the feeling of involvement and community. I’m not to most social of people and actually enjoy hiding under rocks and being somewhat anti-social but after I got up the courage to go to my first Melbourne Meet up (organized by the multi-talent Jo O’Brien) I’ve really embraced the bubbles online artistic community and am less inclined to stay in the background! LOL!

What were your original expectations and the reality if now?

Hmmmm, I guess I kind of covered that above but I’ll elaborate…
I came here without expectations… I’m sure like all other artists in the world, I scoured the internet looking for options (affordable options!), Red Bubble blew me away for the sheer fact that if you sell, you and the bubble make money, cool! You see, in a gallery environment you pay for the lease, invitations, opening night necessities and then on top of that upwards of 30% commission on all sales. Not that that’s a bad thing, that’s life but you can see why the bubble became a shining light! Everyone’s work is available to be viewed and purchased 24/7 365 days a year!! (Except when the elves are out crashing trolleys!)

How has Red Bubble enriched you?

Perhaps it’s the interaction with other like minded people that’s been most enriching for me. I’ve began to thrive on the discussion and points of view given by people in journals, forums and comments. I work (on call 24/7) in a sterile, time consuming corporate environment, my workplace doesn’t really know about my artistic life and I try to keep both very separate. The bubble is my release, an avenue where I’m not confined by rules and restrictions, a place where my individual artistic creations have a home and are surrounded by others works of art enjoying the same freedoms. That is enriching!

Tells us something about your artistic CV and its highlights?

Numerous group exhibitions, solo exhibitions both here in Oz and Internationally, winning a couple of awards last year, being nominated for an international art prize this year (more news about that soon!), being commissioned to supply artwork for the foyer and Outpatients area of a new medical facility in Western Victoria, having work published by a corporate company in their annual portfolio.

Looking ahead I’ve got my final exhibition for the year happening in Sydney from the 7th to 18th November 2007 at the Global Gallery in Comber St Paddington. I’ll be flying up to Sydney on the 17th to be a part of a “meet the artist” day at the gallery from 2pm, so please if any NSW bubblers have got some spare time, come and say G’day, I’d love to meet you face to face!!

I’m so looking forward to 2008! Mainly because of collaboration between Aleisha (Inktart Art), Jo O’Brien and myself that will culminate into an exhibition tentatively titled “Hidden Worlds”. Also, I will be having 3 of my “train” images on Display at the Beijing Contemporary Art Show in March.

Tell us your Influences?

I’ll give you a quick answer otherwise we’ll be here all day!
Please bear in mind that I’ve been a Musician / Photographer for most of my life so influences come from both styles and effect each diversely (I’m sure you know what I mean!!)

Andre Segovia, Bob Dylan, Mauro Giuliani, Yngwie Malmsteen, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Jeff Buckley, Queen, Slayer, The Doors, Pearl Jam, Metallica, Prince, Kiss, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Living Color, Vincent Pulo, Tolkien, Rage Against The Machine, Tim Buckley, Vincent Van Gogh, Edward Munch, Salvador Dali, Jimi Hendrix, Andy Warhol, Ken Kelly and Leonard Nimoy.

Wordsmiths and Heavy Metal – you’ve gotta love that.

- Danny