Virus, the alter ego of London-based Italian artist Raffaella Bertolini, has marked the development of Punk Rococo, a series that brings together punk roots with a love of 18th-century portraiture, fashion, and rebellion.
Where do you long to live (reality or fantasy)?
Somewhere old, slightly crumbling, and full of character. Ideally, an old house in the countryside near a lake and surrounded by woods, complete with huge windows and enough space for a proper studio. I imagine antique furniture, paintings everywhere, animals wandering around, and a slightly gothic atmosphere. I love London and my hometown in Italy, but my fantasy location is somewhere quieter where I can disappear into painting for days without outside distractions.
If your artwork could come to life and interact with you, what kind of conversation would you have with it?
I think we would probably argue or plot a revolution! Most of the women I paint have strong personalities, they are rebellious, melancholic, defiant, and sometimes a little damaged, but never helpless. I would ask them what happened right before the moment I painted them and what they plan to do next. I suspect I would discover that their stories are completely different from what I imagined, or they might just tell me to mind my own business. Since there is always a part of me in them, even when depicting fictional or historical figures, the conversation might get a bit uncomfortable!
What are the mediums that you love to use the most and why? Any favorite brands or tools?
Oil paint, definitely. I love how forgiving it is and how it allows you to keep moving paint around, building skin tones and light slowly through glazes. I particularly enjoy painting faces, fabric, and subtle color shifts. My go-to brands are Jackson’s Art, Gamblin 1980, Winsor & Newton, and occasionally Michael Harding when I want to treat myself.
I also love charcoal. It offers the opposite experience: immediate, messy, and very physical. Charcoal allows me to focus purely on light, expression, and form without being distracted by color.
Additionally, I value good brushes, Belle Arti fine-grain canvas, and vintage frames. Frames have become an essential part of my work, sometimes finding a unique vintage frame inspires the painting that goes inside it.
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If you had to describe your creative process as a weather pattern, what would it look like on your best day versus your worst?
On my best day, my process is like a thunderstorm. Everything happens quickly, ideas arrive in rapid succession, music plays, paint goes everywhere, and I completely lose track of time. One painting sparks ideas for several others, building an entire series in my head.
On my worst day, it feels like an oppressive heatwave. I struggle to think clearly or find energy, everything I paint feels wrong, and I second-guess decisions I was happy with the day before. That is usually when I have to walk away for a while.
Deborah Jackson, Gallery Assistant
Deborah Jackson is the Gallery Assistant for Poetic Tiger. She is also an artist and writer who creates big-eyed characters with soft, brave, gentle hearts. Living now on a wild and windswept island in Scotland, her work is for those who feel the deep pull of small magic and look to immerse themselves in stories filled with curiosity and courage.
