Interview : Tiziano Baracchi - Part 2          

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IA: I guess that working on a character has its own set of creative rules. Can you tell us about any the major difficulties you come across when creating a character?

TB: In many cases my portraits are commissioned works, often role-playing characters or characters in a story or a novel. As such, it is really important for me to get an understanding of the character’s personality and life and that isn’t always easy. Often I get a physical description and little else, but, for instance, how many characters can be “dark haired, blue eyed, burly and with an old scar on the left cheek and a dragon tattoo on the back?” Is he a former adventurer turned inn-keeper, a swordsman, a prize-fighter, caravan guard or a bandit? The results will be very different in each case. When I paint a character I want to have the possibility to get acquainted with him or her as much as I can, a bit like an actor preparing for a play, because only then do I feel I have a chance for the work to be something more than just a technically correct portrait.

There are technical difficulties too, of course, anatomy, perspective...depending on the specific requests, but for me technique should be like a building’s foundations: solid and well done, but not visible at first glance.

IA: What do you think is the most important thing to focus on to do a good portrait?

TB: Personality, of course, and, because of that, eyes and expression are usually my main focus, together with body-language if I’m doing more than a face-shot.

IA: What would you like people think and feel when they look at your art?

TB: Recently, I have had the great pleasure of having a professional writer comment on one of my portraits, Dark Days. She said she didn’t know whether she wanted more to write a story about the girl or to take her home and offer her a comforting bowl of soup. It is one of the greatest compliment I have ever been paid, and exactly what I hoped for when I painted her.
I would like viewers to think of my works as snapshots, parts of a story, glimpses of a world and to wonder about what the story may be, what happened before and what will happen in just the next moment.

IA: Can you tell us about what you're working on now?

TB: I cannot give the details, since the works are under non-disclosure at the moment, but I am working on my first cover art commission for a role-playing game. Actually it’s two covers and a Game Master screen. I have been asked to paint combat scenes with a lot of characters, a definite departure from my usual fare and I am really enjoying the challenge.