Who is the artist behind The Nightmare Portraits?

People have started to recognize my name and ask me questions about how I became an artist. For long, I didn’t want to draw any extra attention to myself, but I think I owe it to you to reveal the secret behind this artwork. If you’re a fan of Nightmare Portraits, you might be wondering who I am, and I decided to let you in on my life and the story of how The Nightmare Portraits came to existence.

My name is Carla (pseudonym), and I was born in September 1988. I lived in a small town in the center of Italy, and it’s where I discovered my passion.

My love for drawing started when I was 5, and it would always bring me great joy. Naturally, I wanted to be an artist when I grow up, and I kept drawing throughout my childhood. As a teenager, I won a few prizes for my art but, as fate would have it, I ended up studying economics.

The truth is, I never forgot about my love for drawing, and I would doodle in my textbooks whenever I had a pen in my hand. My dream was to become an artist, but life happened, and so did complications, including a health problem that I had at the age of 20. Due to disease, I couldn’t use my right hand to draw, and I was forced to give up on my dream.

It felt like I had to stop doing what I love the most, but I came to terms with it thinking that I wasn’t that good anyway. If someone would have told me back then that I would do what I love for a living now, I wouldn’t have believed them.

Three years passed and, luckily, I found a solution to go back to drawing. I just couldn’t help it because it felt like it’s my calling and purpose in life. Nothing could stop me from expressing myself in a creative way because it was simply something I had to do, like breathing.

I struggled to find my style though, even though I drew inspiration from everything around me and everything inside me. No matter how much experience I had, I felt like I’m still finding myself and discovering my style. Then I discovered the magical world of Tim Burton and fell in love with this art. To be honest, I felt like I finally belonged somewhere, even though it was an imaginary world full of dark characters. I felt so inspired that I just couldn’t help it, and I kept drawing until I knew exactly what my style of art is going to be.

The idea of drawing for a living was still unimaginable to me, and I only made drawings for my friends. They would reassure me that I’m a talented artist, but I didn’t really believe them until someone believed in me more than I could possibly believe in myself. It was the man I loved whom I married soon after. He is a marketing expert, and he helped me share my art with the world.

Yes, my doodles suddenly got called art, and I felt on top of the world. I finally knew that this was what I’m supposed to do with my life and the sky was the limit. People started hearing about me, and soon, making Tim Burton style of art became my full-time job.

With the help of my husband’s marketing skills, my business started to grow, and I even got to the point where I needed extra help. So, I trained a team of artists who enjoy helping me get my art out there because they share the same passion I do. Our love for Tim Burton style of art connected us and created a bond that helps me put my heart into what I do.

The story of how I became who I am today wasn’t over yet, because the best was yet to come. My husband and I became a family and our children are proud of me and love the work that I do. Most importantly, my family taught me to be proud of myself and keep pursuing my passion. If it wasn’t for them, I would probably be stuck at a 9 to 5 job and draw during my lunch breaks. Now, I get to follow my dream and dedicate my time only to the most important parts of my life – my family and my artwork.

Not only am I a proud mother and wife, but my children and my husband are proud of me too, and this is what I’m most grateful for. They constantly motivate me to keep creating the Nightmare Portraits, and I hope that I portray the love I have for my family while I draw the families that order Nightmare Portraits.

I guess that what I learned from my life story is that you should never stop chasing your dreams, and, as long as there are people who love you and believe in you, you will succeed. I don’t usually consider myself successful, but when I look at my family sitting on the couch under our Nightmare Portrait and looking at me with love, I can’t help but feel grateful and think to myself that this must be the true meaning of success – having people who love you the most and doing what you love the most.

I don’t know what I did to deserve such a blessing, but it taught me that you should never give up on your dreams, and your spouse and kids are the most important people you’ll ever meet in your life. If you want me to draw your family, it will be my pleasure, and I hope that Nightmare Portraits will bring as much joy into your home as they did into mine.

Hereby, at the request of my husband and children, I promise to never stop doing what I do best and improving my skills so that I can bring you the best Family portraits, and make you as happy as drawing makes me.

Carla

ps: my real name is Elena but my children are keeping having fun by calling me Carla :D