How Artist Fabiola Smorto Uses Art to Express Herself

Fabiola Smorto is a talented artist and designer living in London. She is originally from Rome. In this interview, she talks about how art has always been a big part of her life—something she didn’t just choose but something she’s always needed. Fabiola shares her creative process, how she finds inspiration in everyday moments, and how she experiments with techniques to bring her ideas to life. She also opens up about her challenges, like dealing with creative blocks and deciding when a piece of art feels truly finished. From her childhood drawings to her current pieces, she shows us how art helps her connect with herself and others meaningfully.

I live in London, but I am originally from Rome. I always kept art in a special place since I started drawing as a kid and never stopped. In primary school, I used to draw for the other kids during the breaks, and in high school, my desk was always covered with drawings; it was the way I was. At university, I graduated in Architecture in Rome and then Design at Central Saint Martins, in between I attended a semester course at Sotheby’s Institute of Art. Visual creativity is the number one thing that I identify and recognize myself in. It is my favourite way to connect with people, by working on a project for someone, by visually telling a story and hearing what people think of it or just discovering someone else’s work.

1. What inspired you to become an artist?

Art wasn’t born out of inspiration for me. It was born out of necessity. This is the thing, I didn’t grow up thinking I wanted to be an artist – I didn’t study art. But I solely knew myself as someone who needed art to affirm her identity.  My art was somehow always self-referencing. It is self-referencing. It always touched facets of my personality and nature. Artistic experimentation is how I try to define myself. That’s why I call it a necessity. I think most of us continuously try to figure out who we are, and art is amongst the most powerful, most liberating tools at my disposal to do that.

 My art was somehow always self-referencing. It is self-referencing. It always touched facets of my personality and nature.

Fabiola Smorto

2. What is your creative process like from start to finish?

My creative process can vary widely; If I already have a specific collection in mind, I find myself working on multiple pieces simultaneously, and the work is more structured in this case. If, instead, I am working on an individual drawing, the flow is more free and iterative. I think the creative process is influenced by the technique it employs. As someone who uses digital means, my process is influenced by it, especially in the latter stages, when I give the finishing touches. That is when I find myself switching and swapping layers and playing around with opacity and things like that to achieve that ever-lasting harmony that I need.

3. Where do you find inspiration for your artwork?

Inspiration comes from what I need at the moment. It comes from the need to render my interpretation of what I see. The decision on the visual subject comes from what I read, what I eat, and what I see and hear. As long as it’s aligned with my need to capture the moment, everything counts as inspiration.

4. Can you tell us about a particular piece of art that holds special meaning for you?

It’s one of the first drawings I ever made using a technique that I then employed later on—see what I did for the “Kaleidoscope of Mythological Femininity” collection. Different strokes of different colours are not blended together; they are just overlaying. And it holds a special place even more because it’s at my parents’ place in Rome.

I am searching for absolute harmony, for everything to come together until each different piece mutually excludes the other.

Fabiola Smorto

5. How do you know when a piece of art is finished?

The truth is that I don’t know. The finishing touches are always dramatic for me! I am constantly changing and mixing, and I only finish the piece because I am so exhausted by the experience that I can’t see any difference anymore. Jokes aside, I think when I perceive a good visual balance throughout the entire piece, I feel satisfied. Rarely do I want something specific to stand out too much. I am searching for absolute harmony, for everything to come together until each piece mutually excludes the other.

Fabiola’s journey reminds us that creativity is more than making something beautiful—it’s about self-discovery and connection. Her openness to experimenting and learning from challenges is inspiring, and her work shows how powerful it can be to follow your passion. To learn more about Fabiola, visit the links below.