Angela Fiammetta (born 1991) is an artist originally from Wisconsin, currently living and working in Bedford, NY. She creates abstract fine art on canvas using elements of sewing and patchworking to create her signature “stitched paintings.”
How did you get into art?
I had a full on career in corporate retail before I began my work as an artist. I fell in love with art completely by accident. My husband and I had just moved to a new apartment in Brooklyn and I had many blank walls to fill. As I was searching for art that I loved to fill the space, I quickly found that my taste in art far outpaced my budget to pay for it. So I decided to start creating some work myself, I had a vision in mind for what I wanted to see in my home so I started to try my hand at creating it. Soon I was completely hooked and I was spending all my free time painting up on my Brooklyn rooftop. My side passion turned into a side hustle as I created an instagram account to share my work, and soon I had people reaching out to purchase my work which was a dream come true to me.
Soon after that I got pregnant and found out that I was having twins! After the twins arrived I realized that it was not sustainable for me to be a mom to twins, work a full time corporate job and also grow my arts business on the side– so I took a leap and quit my job to go full time into my love of creating art. It’s a dream career for me.
How would you describe your style? What makes your art special?
My work focuses on what I call “stitched paintings”. I create my pieces by painting on individual sheets of raw canvas, then cutting and sewing them together to form the final composition. The stitch lines become part of the artwork’s story. It is a way to add texture to the work and a way to join separate elements together in an artful and distinctive way.
My stitched paintings are part painting, part tapestry, part textile art.
How do you go about developing your work?
Each individual piece or collection usually begins with a sketch. I sketch out ideas for shapes, colors & stitch line placement to get an idea of the direction I want to go in with a piece. I sketch whenever inspiration strikes, then when I get time in my studio I can start to paint and sew the ideas that came out on my sketch pad. I work with acrylic paints and water them down to thinner consistencies and allow the paint to seep into raw canvas. I often work on a given sheet of canvas for several days, adding many layers of paint to achieve a color and composition with a lot of nuance and depth.
From there I will cut and sew my sheets of canvas into their final composition and then stretch the artwork onto canvas stretcher bars.
Who or what influences you?
I’m highly influenced by nature. I get a lot of inspiration for color combinations and textures on my almost-daily walks through my neighborhood and through the woods– I definitely find that the changing of the seasons will have a big impact on the color palettes that I am working with in my studio.
I’m also inspired by fashion & interior design trends which to me are their own forms of art.
What are you planning to do next?
I’m currently creating several original works in preparation for an art show in December. Stay tuned for more information on that.
