I was six when I started painting with watercolors but very soon switched to tempera since I liked the control this type of paint provides. I painted Disney characters on wood since I could get it for free. After a few years, I stopped painting and got into music photography and so on. After college I picked up the brush again, this time using acrylic paint on canvas, and changed to free style painting, also known as abstract painting.



The Divine Comedy was a book my family often spoke about and discussed. I waited until I had a chance to "study" it in College when I was at the University of California, Los Angeles to study The Divine Comedy. This was the most gratifying experience in College. The Divine Comedy changed my life in many ways. I was completely enthralled as I was taken through the afterlife by Dante's hand.



So, many years later, I started developing a graphic magazine series about Dante's Inferno. During this process I had the opportunity to work on a film based on the same subject, titled Inferno by Dante. After I did some research, I realized that there was not enough visual art in public domain to make the film properly. So, I decided to change course, stopped the magazine series and started a new journey into Hell, circle by circle from beginning (The Dark Forest) to the end (The Stars of Purgatory).



Sandro Botticelli, who interpreted The Divine Comedy almost perfectly in the 1480's, became my guide by force after Dantologist Riccardo Pratesi made several observations about my inaccurate work. He brought to my attention that I had made several mistakes that should be corrected if I wanted to offer a serious interpretation of Dante's Inferno in both print and film. So, when Riccardo offered me his free service as a consultant, I jumped at this opportunity from someone that loves Dante as much as I do. Before he became part of my team, I was already working with Avetik Balaian, who helped me design the scenes as well as making the corrections needed to bring to the world a collection of paintings never seen before. All the details, rich colors, and accurate representations were accomplished thanks to both, Riccardo and Avetik, as well as Sandro Botticelli's sketches and paintings.