For professional commissions, I usually work digitally, using either Photoshop or Procreate. I like Procreate because it's mostly like actual painting, or at least I have my way of using it to make digital work look as such. I enjoy using Photoshop too, but quite differently, sometimes not even using my graphic tablet and stylus, and instead creating only simple shapes and playing with geometry and space. It makes the result quite different, maybe more efficient and neater in a way, though less painted.

Then, when I am not in a hurry, in my spare time, I love going for traditional painting (actual paint, inks, etc.). Whatever the technique I may use, I always sketch a lot during the day. It helps me clear my mind; it is very restful to me. I don’t have to think about what I want to draw; I just let my hand wander until something comes out of it.

Then, I can enhance some of those sketches with values, or add color to them using digital tools, or leave them as they were in the first place, just black lines and hatching on paper. This is actually how I mainly create: I don't usually have a final image in my mind for my personal works, and the idea just evolves throughout the process of drawing until the painting starts to appear.

Of course, it is a bit different when it comes to commissioned artworks! I then have to follow the brief and desires of the people I work for. It can be trickier, but I’m lucky enough to retain a certain freedom in the compositions or styles I want to use. I obviously need some visual references from time to time to try and be close to what is asked of me. I then use photos or artists' paintings I like to find some inspiration, and I am usually able to come up with a new piece that is a mix of everything I’ve been using. I am influenced by many artists: modern concept artists, comic book artists, traditional painters, etc. It would be hard to mention just a couple as I love so many… and it still changes as I discover new ones! Still, if I had to, I would say that my main influences, the ones I always come back to when I’m confused or need to push myself further, are Paul Lehr, Moebius (obviously), Arnold Böcklin, or Beksinski.

Lost in an alien dreamscape, an astronaut surveyed the remnants of his shattered spacecraft. The twisted metal seemed to meld with the surreal landscape, as if the planet itself cradled the wreckage in an ethereal embrace. Strange, luminescent flora sprouted from the debris, a testament to the cosmic dance of destruction and creation. His reflective visor mirrored the alien sky, where fractured constellations whispered cryptic secrets. Amidst the silence, a distant iridescence beckoned him towards an unseen horizon. There, he realized, lay the heart of this enigmatic world—a realm of dreams and anomalies. In the wreckage's midst, Elio found himself caught between the past and a surreal present, where the alien planet wove tales of cosmic mysteries. With quiet determination, he ventured forth, a lone explorer in a realm where reality and imagination collided, leaving behind the shattered remnants of his journey as a cryptic testament to the inexplicable beauty of the cosmos.

Embarking on a journey into the vibrant unknown, Gattenird unfolds its own narrative as four explorers step into an enchanting canvas of colors, where the surreal tales of the alien realm come to life.