Stories and productions like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter forged my fantasy during my late youth and the relentless desire to be a part of them plunged me through the University years. One day the instinct tickled my brain, I picked up a pencil, a sheet of paper and for the first time I started drawing. There and then my deepest desire loomed. After graduating in Cinema and Media Engineering in Italy, I retired to my own cave and for months I learned on my own how to draw and paint. My student portfolio gifted me a scholarship with a one way ticket to Hollywood. What I thought was the final destination instead became the first step. The Gnomon School of Visual Effects welcomed me and helped enrich my collection of works, eventually wandering towards the realm of Matte Painting, the art behind those worlds and landscapes that we see in films which makes us wonder whether we're being fooled by reality or an artist's brush.