Interview
Angela Finelli
Angela Finelli is a New Jersey based, self taught visual artist celebrated for her intricate graphite portraiture, detailed surrealist oil paintings, and thematic curated collections. Finelli turned to creative expression at an early age as a catalyst for healing and resilience. Developing her skills through self-directed study, she initially began in dry media, before moving onto acrylic, eventually adopting oil as her primary medium of choice.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“My background is a bit of a story, involving resilience, turning profound personal hardship into a lifelong professional calling. Born and raised in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, my journey into the art world began not in a traditional classroom, but as a survival mechanism. At just five years old, after my mother tragically suffered a traumatic brain injury and two strokes, I picked up a paintbrush. Unsure of how to process the darkness and anxiety gripping my family, I began creating art to serve as a therapeutic outlet and a source of light, hope, and healing for my family. As I grew, my art evolved alongside life's challenges. During my senior year of high school, my father passed away suddenly. I immediately stepped into the role of my mother's caregiver, a devotion that shapes my life to this day. Seeking a fresh start, I relocated 900 miles away to Nashville, Tennessee, where my lifelong passion officially transformed into a professional career. I entered the commercial art scene as a paint instructor, teaching public paint-and-sip classes. This experience allowed me to share the joy of creativity with others while rigorously refining my own technical skills across multiple mediums. After expanding my horizons in the South, I returned to the East Coast to further establish my brand, AngsArtistry. My self-taught journey reached a major milestone when I gained national recognition by placing 5th in the quarter-finals of Johnny Depp's People's Artist Award. Today, I work out of my studio creating highly detailed surrealism, soulful portraiture, and textured landscapes using graphite, acrylics, and oils. My entire journey stands as a testament to the idea that art can be a powerful catalyst for healing, using every brushstroke to transform adversity into beauty.”
What inspires you?
“I am deeply inspired by the things that have come from before my time and have shaped society into what it is today. I am also inspired by old literature as well as art history. I find the use of art as documentation of everyday life over the centuries to be a beautifully inspiring and important practice.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“I like to capture everyday moments in life that cause us to feel an emotion but we often overlook. A subtle reminder to slow down and appreciate the small things as well as the beauty of being human. The underlying message across all of my artwork is something intended to make the viewer smile or maybe remember a special moment they’ve lived that strikes a similar emotion the artwork conveys.”
How would you describe your work?
“I like to capture a sense of mystery with a way of invoking deep thought. Art that genuinely captures the viewer and forces them into contemplation, working to gather my true intentions behind the creation of the image.”
Which artists influence you most?
“Van Gogh as I find it truly inspiring how he created from a sense of need, unknowing what would become of his work far after his death. He simply used his art as a way to get out what he needed to, what I believe to be art in its truest and rawest form.”
What is your creative process like?
“My creative process is incredibly long and indecisive, I begin with simply envisioning the end result of the work I have in mind and the concept for the piece. I then begin slowly reviewing through references of things the final image may contain in the orientation or lighting I want to achieve in the end result. This is to ‘warm my brain up’ persay as to the color palette and perspective involved. From there I move to the sketching stage where really anything can happen, I can go from entirely erasing a finishing concept sketch to turn it into something new or piecing together different elements slowly. This is truly where the perspective and idea is born to its fullest extend. Once the sketching is complete I debate within myself for extended periods the medium I feel will fit the tone of the image best. Upon decision, I start painting, a process that usually lasts at minimum 120 hours per piece. Upon completion of the painting, it is then flipped over to be officially stamped with ‘AngsArtistry’ Branding as well as a stamp of Authenticity containing the completion date as well as name of the work itself.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“An artist’s role in society is to capture things as they are during their currently livelihood in my opinion, as things in society are ever changing, you never know if that artists work may be used as an important historical reference later in life. I believe this role is ever evolving with the use of technology as traditional painting is becoming less commonly practiced in households today and the use of cameras is dependent upon. I believe this will only add more weight and importance to the work created during this time as there will be less of it overall.”
