What is the best thing that I love about my work? It’s a privilege to be an artist; and I love the fact that my artwork  – sculpture or painting – has my own voice, as well as the subject, in it.  

Will try hard when I reach 64 . . .

What is the trait that I most deplore in myself? Hmmm, perhaps a little resist of ambition to be an anomaly . . . . 

Which living persons in my profession do i most admire? Too many but just now pops up in my head is:

Sculptor:  Sam Jinks . . . .

Entrepreneur:  Gary Vaynerchuk

What is my greatest extravagance? In 2009 June, at age 52 I went back to art school studied sculpture in Florence Italy for 3 years then stayed on to make a living as a sculptor & painter . . . . 

On what occasion would I lie? To protect someone, when someone close to me is depressed, sad and on low or no confidence; that’s when I lie to help them to boost themselves back up again  . . .

What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work? the huge cost of art materials and cost of casting bronze sculpture  . . . .  

When and where was I the happiest, in my work?  when the ideal became reality . . . .  and when the reality became its own entity . . . .

If I could, what would I change about myself? I need to have a better attitude and good habits in regards to time management and focus on the now and the impermanence . . . . . . (Innovate or Die) . . . 

What is my greatest achievement in work? I think it would be by believing in myself and going with my gut feeling and sculpting and painting relentlessly; but my personal approach in art, are not necessarily going with the mainstream art market requirement or needs . . . . 

Where would I most like to live? The Renaissance City of Florence (Firenze), Italy. 9 years ago, I moved from New York City East Village to Florence (Firenze), Italy the best choice ever !!!

What is my most treasured possession? One would be the word and teachings of my Root Guru – Kyabjé Drubwang Padma Norbu Rinpoche.  

And the 2nd one would be my imagination and creative mind . . . 

What is my most marked characteristic? Being upstoppable/relentlessly focus on my artwork. . . . I think . . . 

As always, my facebook departing text to my friend is always:  “Buon Lavoro”; “happy working/good job”  as I assumed most folks are like-minded and are alot like me working hard hustle relentlessly !!!

What is my most inspirational location, in my city?  My home/studio, the Renaissance City of Florence (Firenze), Italy; it’s a privilege to live here . . .

What is my favourite place to eat and drink, in my city? Due to my work schedule (14 hours a day), I don’t go too far and I stay and support my neighborhood businesses;  you will find me at:

1.   Caffè degli Artigiani, Firenze, Italia. (cafe/drinks).

2.   4 Leoni Trattoria, Firenze, Italia – Pranzo della Artigiano (lunch special for the local craftsman in the Oltrarno area.)

What books influenced my life and how? 

1.   Dzogchen The Self-Perfected State.  –  it taught me about re-awakening the mind and remaining in our true nature.

2.   The Tibetan Book of the Dead.  –  it taught me the importance of “impermanence” as we can all leave life right now.

3.   Awaken the Giant Within   –    in 1991 it influenced me to switch my state of mind to be more positive, centered, believe in myself, my art and my path. 

4.   Long Day’s Journey into Night   –  read it in 1971 . . . then later on in life 1983 I moved to Connecticut . . . such a powerful book/playwright !!! 

Who are my favorite writers?

1.  Eugene O’Neill

2.  Samuel Beckett

3.  W. H. Auden 

4.  E. M. Foster

5.  Malcolm Gladwell

6.  Gary Vaynerchuk  . . . . and more . . .

though, I really need to read more books, but nowadays I just listen to Podcasts and Youtube while working on my art. 

You Only Die Once. What music would I listen to on my last day?

1.  Cinema Paradiso 

2.  Caruso – Lucio Dalla 

3.  Bach Cello Suite (the entire suite).

Who is my hero or heroine in fiction? 

1.  Hero       –  Toshiba Mifune (三船敏郎) as a samurai, a huge influence from watching Akira Kurosawa’s (黒沢明) b/w films back in the late 60’s.

2.  Heroine  –   Chihiro (Spirited Away – 千と千尋の神隠し),  again a huge influence due to reading Japanese anime/manga storybooks when I was young.

Who are my heroes and heroines in real life?

Heroes:     Gary Vaynerchuk

Heroines:  Patti Smith

and the most important that we often forget to thank are: 

Heroes/Heroines:  The Greenpeace worker, The Homeless Shelter workers, Doctors and Nurses working on a ward for the terminally ill; people who worked in the background, people who work hard to support their passion . . . .

Which movie would i recommend to see once in a lifetime? 

Kundun 

What role does art play in my life and work? “I want to be an artist or nothing”.  –  1965, age 8.  

Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime?  My family, and my best friend; however,  I am looking for a sponsor. Would anyone like to apply ?

Whom would I like to work with in 2018?  That would be Me, Myself and I.  I just wanted to stay tunnel vision focus on my own artwork and work hard and a positive mindset of becoming a rhetorical artist . . . 

Which people in my profession would i love to meet in 2018?

Gary Vanerchuk and Sam Jinks

What project, in 2018, am I looking forward to work on? In 2018 I would continue focusing on my 1920s era paintings. This genre of painting mainly focuses on the 1920s era and the subjective scenes/themes/gestures dealt with depict aspects of sensitive people engaged in common activities, while in a rather familiar settings. The verisimilitude of my canvases is tempered, to show imagined figures to whom no identity can be attached.

The sentimental subject matter of the “portraits”  mainly focuses on intentionally concealing and disguising its content  and its emotions, so that there is no “competence” assigned to it ; in other words, the spirit of my work gives no reason to express a judgement ;  it denies the prediction of a social rank/status, and specifically, it attributes limited social characteristics that are based on the appearance of faces  ( age, gender, race, ethnicity, expressions, and introverted/extroverted ). 

The denial of facial identity is a conscious resistance to the era we live in: a “face-ism” time in history, when at every moment people are obsessed with their facial identities and overindulge in the ridiculous ritual of “selfies”

Where can you see me or my work in 2018? As for now, I am working on focusing on a few galleries in Florence, Italy,  and also The British Institute Library in Florence, Italy, that’s my desire, and perhaps  I will have some private studio viewing to be arranged. 

What do the words “Passion Never Retires” mean to me? It means, being in the zone of a gratitude mindset, keeping on building up the momentum, getting really good at it, velocity, grit, gumption, guts, fearlessness, hustling, being unstoppable and working relentlessly hard  14-16 hours a day on my artwork, as the truth is going to win in the end . . . .  that’s what it means for me.

Which creative heroines should Peter invite to tell their story?

Jennifer Norton, Kelly Borsheim, Susan Marshall, Mia (miomira anima mundi medaković topalović) and Chyna Wu.

How can you contact me?

Pardon me, my new Website (https://www.octoberottobre.it) won’t be active till Spring of 2018; as I am still in the process of finishing my painting and sculpture;  but you can contact me through 

Gmail:  october.ottobre@gmail.com

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/october.ottobre/

Here is the old Website:  http://www.studio108firenze.it/about/  (it only listed half of my bronze sculpture and without any of my painting, please stay connected for my new website https://www.octoberottobre.it  in 2018.)

Thank you for reading my article, gratefully appreciated your time.