The visionary and dreamlike art of illustrator and comic book artist Daniele Serra appears on DarkVeins to tantalize the eyes of those who linger to get lost among his works. The young Sardinian artist boasts prominent collaborations with leading American and British comic book publishers such as DC Comics, Image Comics, Cemetery Dance Publications, as well as with the U.S. magazine Weird Tales based on horror and fantasy stories.
Daniele also signs covers of short stories, horror and fantasy books.
But that's not all. He collaborated on Marcello Fois's Carne and in 2012 was the winner of the British Fantasy Awards, a prestigious prize that took him to the podium. Now attention is captured by Veins and Skulls, his artbook due out in December 2014 from SST.
A: Who is Daniele Serra?
B: I still don't know exactly who he is, but he lives in Sardinia, is 36 years old, has a wife and three cats. He loves reading, playing music, watching movies and drawing a lot. You will hardly see him dancing in public given his shyness.
A: How did you approach art?
B: Let's say that my approach to art and in particular to drawing happened from an early age thanks to my parents and relatives who always pushed me to cultivate this passion. Passion that has never left me so much that it is currently my profession. I still remember that around the age of seven I would avidly leaf through the volumes my father owned of the great painters, I would stay hours looking at them and I also had my favorite painters, which even then were those who used colors that were not too bright. The technical approach then came with some courses in comics and oil painting where I learned the basics of the technique.
A: How do you define yourself artistically speaking?
B: I call myself a genre illustrator. With a lot of romance and little detail.
A: What led you to imprint your art on horror?
B: It's not something studied at the table, I think it's a kind of sensibility, a kind of approach that leads me to draw certain things that for many people come across as strong and macabre but that I consider very romantic in their own way, let's say decadent romantic. This is to say that often the horror aspect for me comes in the background, I don't start with the idea of drawing something "horror," I just try to communicate an emotion. This does not take away from the fact that I really like horror!
A: What is your relationship with horror and dark-gothic culture in general?
B: I like horror, as well as dark-gothic culture. It's a type of culture very much akin to my tastes, so I fell into it without even realizing it. Gothic literature, dark music, horror movies, these are all aspects that are present in my life, and quite inescapable. Again, I think it's a matter of sensibility, everyone has their own, I get excited by a bare, dry tree and there are those who feel happy looking at a flowering tree with a thousand colors.
I have a very close relationship with the music scene, which has led me to design covers for various groups such as Wumpscut and Simon Balestrazzi of TAC.
A: What are your sources of inspiration? How has your creative process evolved?
B: I think we are what we see, read, feel, so my idea is that we can only rework what already exists. That said, I think for me music and literature are an inexhaustible source of inspiration and emotions. Especially the emotions I get from reading, listening, are the fuel that leads me to want to in turn recreate and express myself. I am very shy, consequently drawing allows me to express myself and communicate what I think and what I dream.
A: What themes do you deal with most in your works?
B: Life and death, human relationships, sensuality. Pretty universal themes that everyone deals with in life.
A: What techniques do you use?
B: Predominantly three: India ink, watercolor and oil. Generally based on the commission I decide on the technique that I think is most appropriate, lately I am getting great excitement from working with watercolor, its immediacy is adrenaline, while oil I find very relaxing. In addition to the type of subject another factor based on which I decide on the technique is the mood I am in.
A: You mainly use black and white in your works. What meaning do these colors have for you?
B: I like black because I find it elegant, I like white because of the contrast it creates with black. In general, colors taken individually do not have great significance for me, I am interested in how they relate to each other, the delicacy of a tone on tone or, indeed, a sharp contrast between black and white. Then in truth I don't have a great variety of colors in my work, some I'm just afraid to use, and earths are the ones I'm most comfortable with.
A: You are a well-known illustrator, in fact your work has been published worldwide. Has Italy, particularly Sardinia, given you as much satisfaction as the rest of the world?
B: In Italy and especially in Sardinia I have published very little, there is no specific reason, perhaps, as far as book covers are concerned, I have noticed that in Italy they prefer to use photographs or hyperrealistic images that are often computer-modified, whereas in America and England they are very attached to pictorial illustration and even commission great painters to make the covers. They often make limited editions that give the book more value as an art object. However, apart from the cultural aspect, now it is much easier to work abroad, borders and nationalities with the advent of the internet are felt much less, with a connection you have the possibility to reach all corners of the world, so working for a publishing house in Italy or Australia becomes practically the same, and this I find very nice and stimulating.
A: Can you tell us about your interview that appeared in Fangoria? What edition of the well-known magazine is it about?
B: Yes, in September my interview came out in the American edition of Fangoria. As a big fan of horror movies it was a great satisfaction, plus I was interviewed by Barbie Wilde, a writer and actress known for playing the cenobite in Hellraiser II. After I did the cover of her novel we became friends and she herself suggested an interview for Fangoria. Better than that!
A: Can you list the covers you have made for books and movies?
B: It's a bit complicated because at the moment I have made more than a hundred and fifty, but those who want to get an idea can visit my site where they can find many of them.
A: How is the creativity required to make a cover triggered?
B: Typically the editor and writer are in the business of giving me guidelines, which can be a brief synopsis of the book, the book itself to read, or a very specific idea of what they want on the cover. Based on that I try to develop a very quick initial pencil sketch to figure out the spaces and balances, once approved I proceed with the actual illustration. I have a very instinctive approach to work, always trying to work on emotion rather than manic detail. As a result I start with a basic idea but often I don't know how the final illustration will come out, I let my instincts guide me a lot and also the materials I work with, I sometimes happen to use a very old half-destroyed brush that does a little bit what it wants on the paper, and I let it.
A: What horror movie would you have liked to make the poster for?
B: A random one by Mario Bava, The House with the Laughing Windows, Halloween.
A: Which music album would you have liked to make the cover of instead?
B: Wings of Joy by the Cranes, a random one by Einsturzende Neubauten, Hecate by Ordo Equitum Solis.
A: What music do you listen to?
B: A lot of dark ambient music, industrial, noise, ethereal, post rock...
A: You are the "best artist" of the 2012 British Fantasy Awards. How has your life changed since being awarded such an award?
B: It has changed professionally, it has allowed me to get more exposure, more contacts. It's a kind of certificate of value in the business field, and I'm very happy about it. Winning it was a great satisfaction and honor, personally and emotionally it represents a small step forward in my still very long journey, a confidence boost. An important moment that must represent a starting point in the constant quest for evolution.
A: Tell us about your artbook Veins and Skulls, how did this project come about?
B: It came about this summer thanks to editor Paul Fry, who proposed to me himself the idea of doing an art book with my work. At first it was supposed to be a collection of the covers I've done over the last few years, then instead we decided to do something completely new with a concept that could tie together all the illustrations in the book. It has been more than 3 months of work and finally the art book is out right now. I am very happy because it is a work that I particularly care about, I have always worked in pairs with writers and this represents the first work solely my own. The concept is right in the title: "Veins" to represent flowing life and "Skulls" identifying death. A confrontation between life and death with some very subdued flashes of eroticism.
A: Are you currently working on any new projects?
B: I currently have several projects in the works including a comic book with Marcello Fois, I hope it will see the light of day soon. Otherwise I always have several covers to do and a dream in the drawer: illustrating Marlowe's Faust. We'll see...
A: What do you think about this interview?
B: It was very interesting to answer your questions, and I thank you because you allowed me to talk about topics not only related to my work. I had a great time!
A: Greetings to our friends at DarkVeins!
B: A big hug to everyone!
A: Thank you Daniel!
