For years, Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net has been about two things only – awesome art and the artists that create it. With that in mind, we thought why not take the first week of the month to showcase these awesome artists even more? Welcome to “Awesome Artist We’ve Found Around The Net.” In this column, we are focusing on one artist and the awesome art that they create, whether they be amateur, up and coming, or well established. The goal is to uncover these artists so even more people become familiar with them. We ask these artists a few questions to see their origins, influences, and more. If you are an awesome artist or know someone that should be featured, feel free to contact me at any time at theodorebond@joblo.com. This month we are very pleased to bring you the awesome art of…
Simone Ferraro is an Art Director and Key Art Designer from Italy who has spent the past ten years traveling and working around the world. After five years in London, Simone decided to try and settle between Los Angeles and El Salvador. He has worked in the entertainment industry both as a freelancer and full-time with well-known agencies, and had the honor of working on projects for companies such as Netflix, Warner Bros., HBO, and many more. Over the years, his work has been recognized by the Clio Entertainment Awards, GEMA, Graphis, and leading industry platforms, resulting in two Clio Awards – one Gold and one Silver.
Alongside Simone’s commercial work, he is currently trying to break into the alternative movie poster industry, collaborating with fellow artists and friends to create work inspired by the movies we love, while hopefully also securing his very first theatrical poster in the process.
JOBLO: What got you started as an artist
JOBLO: What got you started as an artist?
SIMONE: I started as an artist around 2010, when I was 15 years old. A friend of my family introduced me to a bootleg copy of Adobe Photoshop CS2, and I became completely obsessed with it. I was a pretty socially awkward kid at the time and didn’t have many friends, so staying in and making things became my hobby. I spent probably two or three years teaching myself Photoshop and eventually learning the software inside out.
Looking back, those were probably some of the happiest years of my teenage life. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that little obsession with Photoshop would eventually become my career.
Who were some of your favorite artists growing up?
As cliché as it might sound, being Italian probably made me inherently drawn to Renaissance art. Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio and so many others were a big part of my visual education growing up. I was also heavily influenced by artists like Modigliani, Picasso and Dalí, who each had very different approaches to composition, form and storytelling.
As I got older and started becoming more interested in movie art, I discovered more contemporary artists who had a huge impact on me, particularly the master Drew Struzan and Tony Stella.
Who do you really dig these days, follow
Who do you really dig these days, follow on Instagram?
Tying this back to my previous answer, Tony Stella was probably the biggest artistic inspiration for me in recent years. I was extremely saddened when I heard about his untimely passing. It was devastating to see such an important figure in the poster community suddenly no longer be there. I’m still very sad about it to this day, and his work continues to be a huge influence on me.
Trying to remember everyone I look up to would be an almost impossible task, but Steve Reeves, Scott Woolston, Matt Needle, Aleksander Walijewski, Denver Balbaboco, Doaly and Quasirosso are just a tiny fraction of the artists whose work I love and follow. And I apologize in advance to all the other incredible artists – and friends – I’ve inevitably left out!
What advice would you have for budding artists today?
The main advice I feel like giving as I’m writing this is to persevere. Don’t give up, even when things aren’t moving as quickly as you’d like. I’ve learned that it’s very easy to stress about your career (especially in times like these) and feel like you should constantly be seen, always trying to build momentum. But sometimes you just have to sit down, relax (I know it’s easier said than done), keep learning, and give things time to happen. Things will probably work out, even if you don’t stress about them every single day.
What should we be looking out for from you now and in the future?
Great question! But I don’t want to go into too many details because I’m very superstitious about talking about things before they’re out in the world (from experience, haha).
All I can say is that this last
All I can say is that this last quarter of the year has been very busy, which is incredibly exciting. I’m working on a few collaboration pieces with some of my all-time favorite artists, which is honestly a dream come true. There are a few things I can’t talk about yet, but hopefully I’ll be able to share them with everyone very soon!
I’ve also been working on a little personal project for the upcoming Academy Awards, creating a few mock-up billboards for a personal FYC campaign for OBSESSION. Focus Features is pushing Inde Navarrette for Best Actress, among several other categories, and I have tried to design my own personal interpretation of what that campaign could look like.
I also have a few pieces available through Hero Complex Gallery, including an EXORCIST piece celebrating next year’s anniversary in collaboration with Edgar Roldan, a tribute piece for WEAPONS in collaboration with Nino Cammarata, and THE MUMMY, which was already released in collaboration with Kevin Bravo.
Favorite movies / TV shows?
Okay, not gonna lie, I have quite the taste in movies and TV series! My favorite movie of all time is probably one of Kubrick’s most controversial: Eyes Wide Shut. Watching THAT scene at three years old changed my life (thanks, Grandpa!).
Other favorites include the first two Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies, the Before Sunrise trilogy, Harry Potter, and the entire A Nightmare on Elm Street series – with Dream Warriors being my all-time favorite. I’m sure there are many, many more that I’m forgetting right now.
As for TV series, Fringe was a life-changing
As for TV series, Fringe was a life-changing experience for me, as was the US version of Being Human. I’m also a huge fan of Doctor Who and Breaking Bad.
I guess there’s a bit of everything in there!
Scroll down to check out some of our favorite art pieces from Simone as we continue to follow his journey across his website and his social media hubs: Instagram / LinkedIn / Inprint Store / The Mummy Poster ) / The Exorcist Poster / Weapons Poster /
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
