Amy Florence Moseley

View: What is your Background?

Amy: I was born in East London and moved to Florence when I was 18 to train at a classical Atelier teaching a technique that stems directly from the Renaissance. I later went on to teach at that Atelier for 5 years. I kept intending to leave Florence but 9 years later and I am still here. I have a beautiful north light studio, purpose built for painters in 1873. Italy is a beautiful country that offers so much to artists, the landscape is myriad and changes so much throughout the year, and there is always more to see and do. 

 

View: What inspired you to move to Florence?

Amy: I moved here initially because I could not find this level of artistic training in the UK. I first saw a painting by a student of the Atelier and I could not believe that people could paint that way anymore, it looked like the paintings I’d admired at museums. I always had a fascination for Italy, I remember visiting as a child and the orange glow of the evening light stayed with me. It seemed like a fairytale place and when the opportunity to study here arose, it felt completely right that I would move here. 

 

View: What is your creative process like?

Amy: I paint every day. Sometimes in the studio with models, sometimes outside. When you train your eye and use it intensely every day, it changes the way that you see everything, you cannot turn it off. I am always painting mentally, and when I see something and think ‘That’s a painting’ I get my brushes and I paint it. 

 

View: Has your style changed over the years, if so how?

Amy: I think it is and always will evolve. I can see my work getting more impressionist, and looser as the time between my classical training and my current work increases. 

 

View: What do you believe is a key element in creating a good composition?

Amy: There is a lot of theory behind what makes a good composition but for me it is a feeling, it has to be balanced and intriguing and serve the purpose of the idea.

 

View: What do you look for in a subject matter?

Amy: It is something that catches my eye, a feeling that I get that I want to share. The fleeting times of day are my favourite, they are so enigmatic, I’ve recently been painting sunsets where there is about 5 – 10 minutes before everything changes, so you have to paint fast!

 

View: What is your favourite piece of art?

Amy: This changes all of the time, and there is a very long list. I like a lot of Tonalist work and Impressionist painters. George Inness is a favourite that I keep coming back to. He paints with feeling, you can feel that when you look at his work.